Afghanistan: UN human rights chief calls on Taliban to release five activists

The United Nations, human rights chief called on the Taliban government to release five people said to be detained by the insurgent group. The five people were apparently detained during a news conference that was hosted by a women’s civil society organization.

Friday last week, the UN human rights chief called on the Taliban to release five activists that were detained at an event by a women’s civil society organization. Police disrupted the event that took place in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Thursday that aimed to launch a new women’s movement, the Afghan Women’s Movement for Equality, according to the office.

Female activist Zarifa Yaqobi and her four male colleagues were arrested by law enforcement. The other female attendees were also temporarily detained and faced questioning as well as phone and body searches before they were released.

“We are concerned about the welfare of these five individuals and have sought information from the de facto authorities regarding their detention,” said the spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, at a news briefing in Geneva.

The detainment and searching of attendees at the event come amidst growing concern about the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. The international community has demanded that the Taliban uphold the rights of women and girls, but the insurgent group has since implemented increasingly restrictive policies since taking over the country in August 2021.

Despite the Taliban’s focus on security when the group retook control of Afghanistan, the country has suffered from several attacks in recent months. Last week, a bus that was transporting Taliban-employed personnel was hit by a blast, injuring seven people.

“Due to a blast on a minibus from the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, seven have been injured,” said Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran. Zadran added that the cause of the blast was a roadside mine, but it was not determined who was behind the blast.

The blast last week followed an attack by gunmen on a vehicle in western Afghanistan, killing five medical personnel employed by the insurgent group’s security forces. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State militant group.