Afghan journos beaten and tortured by Taliban for covering women's protest

The Taliban have no intention to protect human rights and guarantee freedom of press, at least two such images tweeted by verified Twitter handles have revealed.

The images have been tweeted by Marcus Yam (a foreign correspondent for the Los Angeles Times) and in another by Etilaatroz (an Afghan news publication).

The image tweeted by Yam shows two men in their innerwear and standing with their backs to the camera. Their backs and legs are covered with what appear to be red welts and bruises, according to media reports.

Etilaatroz also tweeted the closeup images of the gruesome injuries of the two scribes, who the publication identified as Taqi Daryabi and Nematullah Naqdi.

Daryabi is a video editor and Naqdi is a reporter from Etilaatroz newspaper, the Afghan news organisation reported.

They were covering a protest led by women in the Kart-e-Char area of western Kabul on Wednesday, when they were forcefully taken away by the Taliban.

They were shut in different rooms in a police stationand were beaten with batons, electrical cables and whips, according to the BBC.

"One of the Taliban put his foot on my head, crushed my face against the concrete. They kicked me in the head... I thought they were going to kill me," Naqdi told news agency AFP.

"They told me 'You cannot film'... They arrested all those who were filming and took their phones. The Taliban started insulting me, kicking me," he said, adding that when he asked why he was being beaten, he was told: "You are lucky you weren't beheaded".

Daryabi told the BBC's Secunder Kermani in Kabul : "They took me to another room and handcuffed my hands behind me.

"I decided not to defend myself because I thought they would just beat me even worse, so I lay down on the floor in a position to protect the front of my body.

"Eight of them came and they started beating me... Using sticks, police sticks, rubber - whatever they had in their hands. The scar on my face is from shoes where they kicked me in the face.

"I was unconscious after that so they stopped. They took me to another building where there were cells and left me."

 He had fallen unconscious after the beating, and after about two hours he had been released, according to the BBC report.

"I could barely walk but they were telling us to walk quickly. I was in very bad pain."

According to the Los Angeles Times, a local producer with EuroNews was detained and later released by the Taliban. A colleague of the producer told the Los Angeles Times that three Taliban fighters repeatedly slapped him in the face and confiscated his phone and wallet, which were returned when he was released. 

Several other journalists, covering the protests, were also arrested. They include TOLO News cameraperson Waheed Ahmady and Ariana News reporter Sami Jahesh, with cameraman Samim - as they covered the protests.

“This is the first very serious incident involving journalists in Kabul, and if we don’t stand together, much worse things may happen,” Zaki Daryabi, Etilaatroz‘s publisher told The New York Times.

Committee to Protect Journalists said citing news reports and people familiar with the incidents that over the last two days, the Taliban detained and later released at least 14 journalists covering protests in Kabul against the group.

At least nine of these journalists were subject to violence during their arrests or detention, according to those sources.