Close relatives of Zarifa Yaqoubi say that the activist was released from a Taliban prison on Monday, December 12. “The Shiite Mullah Commission started working to secure Yaqoubi’s release since she was arrested, and eventually secured her release on bail,” a relative explains. She described Zarifa Yacoubi’s health condition as good but said that four male colleagues who were arrested with her are still in Taliban prison.
In November, Zarifa Yaqoubi and her four male colleagues were arrested by the Taliban at a press conference being held at the inauguration of the Women’s Movement for Equality.
Soon after their arrests, the Taliban also detained other women activists, including Farhat Popalzai, Zainab Rahimi, and Humira Yusuf. So far, there is no information about the fate of these three female activists and the four male colleagues of Yaqoubi.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Taliban, stated that the reason for the arrest of Yaqoubi and his colleagues was for “having foreign connections,” though the Taliban did not provide evidence of their claim.
The arrests of so many prominent women activists by the Taliban prompted widespread criticism from around the world. On November 14, Amnesty International stated that the Taliban “must comply with international human rights law and standards, and immediately and unconditionally release these women human rights defenders and their colleagues who have been arrested solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.”
Samira Hamidi, the South Asia campaigner for Amnesty International, also said, “The recent wave of arrests of women human rights defenders in Afghanistan is yet another attempt to quell all forms of peaceful protests and any dissent against the Taliban’s oppressive policies that violate human rights, particularly of women and girls. Such arrests will no doubt increase the environment of fear and reprisal in a continuing system of repression that goes unchecked.”
