The Taliban arrested two civil society and environment activists in Daikundi and Ghazni, sources tell Zan Times.
“Qanbar Ali Salari, an environment activist and head of Jangan Foreign Language Academy, was arrested by Taliban intelligence on Tuesday,” a source from Daikundi tells Zan Times. He was arrested at 5 p.m. while teaching a classroom, one of Salari’s relatives, who asked for anonymity, told Zan Times.
Another source, who also asked that their name not be published, says that he was taken away on the charge of “insulting the Islamic Emirate.” even though Salari’s colleagues and family have asked about him several times at the Taliban’s security agencies, they have not yet received a clear answer as to why he was arrested.
Two days later, on Thursday, the Taliban arrested Mehdi Mehran, who coordinated that day’s demonstration in the Malistan district of Ghazni province, sources tell Zan Times. “At around 10:00 p.m., two Taliban Rangers [pick-up trucks] came to Mehdi Mehran’s house, took him away with his hands tied, and kept him in detention overnight,” says an acquaintance of Mehran. He says the Taliban arrested Mehran on charges of organizing and coordinating the protests of the people of Malistan against the genocide of the Hazaras. After an interrogation, Mehran was released on bail.
Since the Taliban came to power, they have arbitrarily arrested many activists, former government soldiers, and journalists. As a result, people are often afraid to report arrests or abuses. “Getting information out is almost impossible because the Taliban control all channels of communication in the country,” explains an activist who was a civil society group organizer in Mazar-e-Sharif. Furthermore, he says that victims’ families and relatives are also warned not to talk by the Taliban.
