NEW DELHI: An Afghan assistant at the Kabul bureau of Japan’s Kyodo News was released from detention in Afghanistan on Thursday.

According to the Japanese news agency, the assistant was detained on Jan. 17 after being summoned to the information department of the Taliban-led interim government. The reason for his detention is unknown.

The assistant was taken to the Kyodo News bureau the following day, and items including a personal computer and a camera were confiscated.

The Afghanistan Journalists Center, or AFJC, on Sunday condemned the detention and demanded the assistant’s immediate release.

According to the AFJC, there were 61 cases of journalists and others being detained in the country last year.

JIJI Press