Information ministry works for release of journalists

A senior official says his ministry is working to bring about the immediate release of a local newspaper editor and a journalist, after their arrest on charges of blasphemy. "I have talked regarding the release of the two detainees and I was told that they were in custody for their own protection. But we still emphasise that they must be released very soon," Minister of Information and Culture Sayed Makhdom Rahin told IRIN in the Afghan capital, Kabul on Monday. The editor of the Aftab (Sun) weekly, Mir Husayn Mahdavi, and his deputy, Ali Reza, were detained by police late last week following an order from the chief justice, reportedly signed by President Hamid Karzai, according to media and government reports. The arrests have been condemned by international protection groups for journalists, as well as the United Nations. "In respect of the arrest last week of two journalists from the weekly Aftab, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, calls for their release without delay. This is both on procedural grounds, to the extent that continued detention of the two journalists does not serve the investigation undertaken by the authorities, and on substantive grounds," the spokesman for the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan, Manoel de Almeida e Silva, told journalists in Kabul on Sunday. The UN spokesman added that in view of this incident, and cases of threats and intimidation against journalists in recent months, it was urgent to undertake a thorough and time-bound review of the legal system in order to promote freedom of expression, protect the rights of journalists and guarantee their freedom to do their work in safety, including the publishing of critical reports and opinions. Local journalists said they were saddened by the news of the arrests. "The attorney general cannot judge on the issue unless professional journalists are involved in studying the issue professionally," Good Morning Afghanistan's radio correspondent, Ali Salimi, told IRIN in Kabul. "We urge the authorities to establish a special court for press crimes, because anyone can interpret articles differently." Salimi went on to say that there was a false degree of freedom of expression. "If this incident is not taken seriously we will experience the problems we had during the communist, Mujahidin and Taliban regimes over the last two decades," he stressed. Rahin said officials at the ministry had asked the editor to visit them following the publication of an article entitled, "Holy fascism", which alleged that crimes were committed by the Northern Alliance in the name of religion. "When we read the article, we wanted to talk with the editor, but he was detained before we could discuss the issue," he explained. The minister maintained that Afghan journalists were still learning and were inexperienced. "We should treat them through tolerance and forgiveness," he said, adding that the ministry was committed to freedom of expression, as this had been denied to the people for the past two decades. "We do expect mistakes and misunderstandings that should be treated through discussion and comprehension," he said. The official said a letter had also been sent to the Press Monitoring Commission to discuss the issue of the article, supposedly published in violation of article 22 of the country's press law. Rahin said the commission was asked to invite Mahdavi to enable him to respond to its concerns. "We are against his arrest and urge them to let the Press Monitoring Commission judge on the issue as it is the relevant authority," he stated.