The in absentia trial of media officials by the Taliban is illegal and un-Islamic according to the Journalists’ Federation.
In a statement, the Federation of Journalists and Afghan media organizations have described the recent remarks by the head of media oversight of the Taliban government regarding the in absentia trial of media officials as illegal and un-Islamic.
Abdul Haq Hammad, head of the media oversight department in the Ministry of Information and Culture of the Taliban government, said in an interview with the state news agency Bakhtar on Monday, the 12th of the new month, that the issue of media outlets that are propagating against the Taliban regime has been referred to court.
He stated that the court will make a decision regarding these media outlets in the coming days.
The Journalists’ Federation has written that an in absentia trial in Islam is only permissible in cases of right infringement. In no other situation is an in absentia trial allowed in Islam. International human rights laws also recognize this process only in cases of rights infringement. Any action by the Taliban in this regard is un-Islamic and illegal because there is no clear instance of right infringement here.