Kabul:
An Afghan YouTuber-model, Ajmal Haqiqi, along with three of his colleagues, have been arrested by the Taliban for allegedly disrespecting Islam and the Quran.
According to Amnesty International, a human rights-focused NGO, the Kabul-based social media influencer posted a video on her YouTube channel last week. In it, Quranic verses are said to have been humorously used by him and three of his other colleagues.
They were seen laughing as one of his colleagues, in a humorous voice, recited verses of the Quran in Arabic. Then, on June 5, another video was posted by Haqiqi in which he is seen apologizing for the previous video, the NGO said.
However, according to Amnesty International, he and three of his colleagues were arrested by the Taliban’s Intelligence Directorate for “insulting the sacred values of Islam” on June 7 and later. On the same day, a ‘confession’ video of Haqiqi was released at his place again. apologized.
A statement released by Amnesty International on June 8 read: “The Taliban must immediately and unconditionally release YouTubers and end their continued censorship of those who wish to be free. express your ideas.”
“Restrictions on the right to freedom of expression must be clearly and strictly regulated by law as necessary and proportionate to a legitimate purpose. International human rights law does not permit restrictions on freedom of expression only to the reason it has the potential to offend or offend is not to protect the religious beliefs or religious sensitivities of their followers.This incident is a prime example of what the Taliban are creating. a climate of fear in Afghanistan using arbitrary arrests and coercion to silence people,” it continued.
