The Kabul Tribune (KT) — At least 10 civil society and human rights organizations have called for the immediate and unconditional release of six employees of the Women and Children Legal Research Foundation who have been detained by the Taliban.
In a joint statement published Sunday, the organizations
expressed concern that the detainees’ cases could be transferred to a military
court and called for them to have access to lawyers and their families.
The groups said the six employees were detained by the
Taliban’s intelligence agency and are now at risk of being tried before a
military court.
They also called on the Taliban to disclose the charges
against the detainees, provide information about their health and ensure that
they are protected from torture and other forms of mistreatment.
The organizations urged the international community and the
United Nations to press for the detainees’ release and to take action to end
what they described as the detention of human rights activists, journalists and
civil society workers in Afghanistan.
Taliban intelligence officers raided the office of the Women
and Children Legal Research Foundation in Kabul on July 18 and detained six
employees, according to the statement. The Taliban also confiscated the
organization’s equipment, documents and other work materials.
Zarqa Yaftali, founder of the organization, confirmed on
July 24 that Taliban intelligence forces had raided the office and detained six
colleagues, including two members of her family.
Richard Bennett, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights
in Afghanistan, and Amnesty International had previously called on the Taliban
to immediately release the detainees.
The Taliban have not publicly responded to the calls for
their release.
The detentions come amid continuing concerns from Afghan and
international rights groups over restrictions on civil society organizations
and the detention of activists, journalists and other civil society workers
under Taliban rule.
