Condemnation of Partaw Nadiri’s arrest warrant.
Afghan Attorney General has issued Afghan poet and writer Mr. Partaw Nadiri’s arrest warrant.
Apparently this warrant has been issued because of the grievance of Mr. Dawod Ali Najafi, Afghan Aviation Minister.
But according to the Mass Media Laws of Afghanistan, whenever there is any complaint or grievance from an individual or an organization about the content of a media outlet or views of an analyst or a writer, initially, the complaint should be investigated by Mass Media Complaint Investigation Commission. And later on, if the case had any criminal aspect, it should be handed over to the legal authorities.
However, Ministry of Information and Culture has not established such a commission yet, and assigned an illegal body to review such cases. But even this case has not been referred to this illegal body as well.
Afghanistan’s National Journalists Union (ANJU) believes that the legal institutions of the country have their own given legal competences, so that in some cases, where their authorities have been bounded, they should respect the law and work inside their boundaries. Therefore, ANJU considers the issuance of arrest warrant for Mr. Partaw Nadiri, unlawful, and strictly asks the Attorney General to dissolve it as soon as possible.
ANJU also believes that in the released article of Mr. Nadiri, titled “Who is goin to choose the next president”, the sources, which the article is written based on that, are clearly mentioned. So this is completely a professional writing, and from that point of view nobody can blame Mr. Nadiri for his article.
In case if the complaint is still maintained, then, it should be pursued by lawful means.
ANJU requests from legal authorities of the country to carefully intervene in media cases and dismiss the arrest warrant of Mr. Nadiri as soon as possible.
Executive Council
Afghanistan’s National Journalists Union
