Mr. Muhammad Ahmadi, the reporter and news editor of “Meraj” local radio station in Herat city was first beaten around 9:30 AM this morning and then detained for 20 minutes.
Abdullah Saljuqi, a representative of Radio Meraj has told ANJU officials in Herat that “while Mr. Ahmadi was on his way to office, his motorcycle was stopped in a Border Police checkpoint located on Bagh-i-Millat road in the northern part of the city and he was denied entry.”
Mr. Saljuqi further states that “In spite of the fact that Mr. Ahmadi had identified himself as a journalist by showing his ID card to the police, nevertheless he was subjected to inappropriate and offensive behavior by one of the police officers and later he was physically abused.”
According to Mr. Saljuqi, the reporter was detained for 20 minutes. Furthermore, Muhammad Ahmadi the editor of Radio Meraj while asks the journalist organizations to follow up the case, expresses his concerns over the deterioration of journalism in this province.
The head of Border police in the Western zone, General Juma Adeel has told Mr. Qadeer Shaheen, the representative of ANJU in Herat that he will inquire the incidents and he will share the findings of the investigation with media organizations.
The incident took place amid the visit of Dr. Abdullah the Chief Executive of National Unity government to Herat.
The Afghanistan’s National Journalists Union (ANJU) while condemns such offensive treatment of journalists, asks the officials of security branches to undertake a training program to their subordinates on how to treat journalists and media personnel.
