human rights defender

Mortaza Behboudi

Actions and Campaigns

HRD's year of birth

1994

HRD's Gender

Man

Type of HRD

  • Journalist/Blogger

HRD's thematic area of engagement

  • Civil and political rights

HRD's geographical origin

Urban

HRD's bio and work

Mortaza Behboudi is a Franco-Afghan journalist, documentary filmmaker, and photojournalist specializing in migration, refugees, and conflict zones. He founded Daily Bazar newspaper and co-founded Guiti News, a French news platform led by refugee journalists. Mortaza has worked with major media outlets including France Télévisions and Arte.

In 2023,he was detained by the Taliban in Kabul for nine months before his release following international advocacy.

He is recognized for his courageous reporting on human rights and press freedom.

Current Status

Released

Detained since

Jan 7, 2023

Date of release

Oct 18, 2023

Charge(s)

  • Anti-government propaganda
  • Spreading fake news

Sentence

Acquitted of all charges by a Kabul criminal court on 18 October 2023 after 284 days of detention.

Latitude: 34.51943551510156

Longitude: 69.34746265411378

Geolocation of detention

Country or area of detention

Region of detention

  • Asia: Southern Asia

Location of detention - City/Town

Kabul

Location of detention - Facility

Pol e Charkhi prison

Allegations / reports of ill-treatment

He was subjected to severe ill-treatment during his 284-day detention by the Taliban in 2023. He reported daily torture, including beatings, electric shocks, forced injections, and the extraction of teeth. Behboudi described the prison conditions as dire, with inmates committing suicide after enduring torture. He was held in a basement cell without exposure to natural light for seven months. These accounts align with reports from other detainees who experienced similar forms of abuse in Taliban custody. Despite the absence of a formal trial, Behboudi was released on October 18, 2023, following international pressure and advocacy efforts.

Recent case update / evolution

Released on 18 October 2023

Any other relevant documents

https://www.franceinfo.fr/monde/afghanistan/afghanistan-les-trois-premiers-mois-j-ai-ete-torture-tous-les-jours-raconte-le-journaliste-mortaza-behboudi-ex-prisonnier-des-talibans_7004447.html

https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/international/article/afghanistan-le-journaliste-mortaza-behboudi-raconte-les-details-de-son-calvaire-aux-mains-des-talibans_244636.html

https://www.amnesty.fr/actualites/afghanistan-une-nouvelle-vague-darrestations-de-voix-dissidentes-par-les-talibans

https://www.afintl.com/en/202501147302

https://www.mediapart.fr/en/journal/international/211023/journalist-mortaza-behboudi-back-france-after-284-days-taliban-jails

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortaza_Behboudi#:~:text=Mortaza%20Behboudi%20(Persian%2FDari%3A,war%20reporter%20and%20documentary%20filmmaker.

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