LONDON: The Taliban detained Iranian photojournalist Mohammad Hossein Velayati earlier this week in the latest arrest of a journalist in the country.

Media watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement calling for Velayati’s immediate release and called on the Taliban to stop harassing members of the press in Afghanistan.

“The detention of Iranian photojournalist Mohammad Hossein Velayati is the latest blow to press freedom in Afghanistan, as the Taliban has ramped up its efforts to crack down on the media in recent weeks,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator.

“Taliban authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Velayati, explain why they detained him in the first place, and end these arbitrary arrests once and for all.”

CPJ reported that Velayati was arrested at Kabul airport shortly before boarding a flight to Iran. The photographer of the semi-official Tasnim News Agency was in Afghanistan for a 10-day personal visit.

Afghani authorities did not provide any information about the arrest.

Over the past month, the Taliban have arrested five journalists, in what media watchdogs say is further evidence of the erosion of media freedom in the country. Authorities also banned women’s voices from broadcasts in Helmand province in the south of the country.

“The detention of Afghan journalists Ataullah Omar and Wahidurahman Afghanmal, as well as the latest discriminatory policy against women being featured in broadcasts in Helmand province, show there is no let-up in the Taliban’s repression after two years in power,” Yi said.

Since their return to power in August 2021, the Taliban have launched a brutal campaign of repression of media freedom, with journalists facing arrest, intimidation and even death.