Afghanistan, Amnesty International: “Abuses by the Taliban against the civilian population are on the rise”

The Taliban have targeted women’s rights defenders, academics and activists in recent months. Many were arrested arbitrarily, without having recourse to legal support or the help of families. According to the organization, they were arrested for publicly criticizing the Taliban’s policies. For this reason Amnesty has asked the United Nations Human Rights Council to establish as soon as possible an independent investigative mechanism which also aims to keep evidence of abuses, useful for the purposes of international justice.

The broken promises. When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, they said they would be committed to upholding and respecting human rights in the country. However, since then Amnesty International has repeatedly documented crimes under international law and human rights abuses by Islamic extremists.

The wave of arrests. Prominent figures of local activism have been captured and detained by the Taliban in recent years: Narges Sadat, defender of women’s rights; Professor Ismail Mashal, women’s education activist; Fardin Fedayee, Zekria Asoli, author; Mortaza Behboudi, French-Afghan journalist; former Senator Qais Khan Wakili and Afghan journalist Muhammad Yar Majroh. At the moment, only Professor Ismail Mashal has been released. In all other cases, no reasons for the arrest were given, nor is it known where the detainees were taken, which amounts to a form of enforced disappearance.

New crimes in Panjshir. Attacks against civilians in Panjshir continue, including kidnappings and enforced disappearances, as the conflict between the Taliban and the National Resistance Front (NRF) heats up. The Crisis Evidence Lab Amnesty International has authenticated photos and videos of at least eight incidents posted on social media between May and August 2022. The images show groups of men being arbitrarily arrested and detained without trial in Panjhir. There are at least 87 people, filmed at various times of detention, always with their hands tied. In one particular video, a Taliban fighter can be heard saying, “If it were up to me, I’d kill them here.”

The testimonials. A witness told the organization that one day the Taliban in the village of Dan-i-Rivat, in Panjshir, called all the men together on the loudspeaker of the mosque for a meeting. But once there, they tied them up and beat them with the back of the weapon. All were then arrested and taken away.

The request for an independent investigation. In a new public statement, Amnesty International is calling on the United Nations to set up an independent investigative mission, similar to those already in place in countries such as Ethiopia, Iran and Myanmar. Such a mechanism should have a multi-year mandate and adequate resources to investigate, collect and preserve evidence of human rights violations and abuses committed throughout the country. “It is clear that the Taliban are neither willing nor able to investigate the actions of their members who violate the rights of the Afghan people” comments Agnès Callamard, general secretary of the organisation. For this it is necessary that there is an external mechanism, also because the situation in the country is further deteriorating, including repression of women’s rights, arbitrary arrests and targeted executions of people of the Hazara ethnic group.