Afghan university professor arrested by Taliban after criticising regime
- Professor Faizullah Jalal was arrested by the Taliban on Saturday after repeatedly speaking out on television against the country’s new rulers
- Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted that Jalal had made statements on social media in which he was ‘trying to instigate people against the system’
A prominent Afghan university professor and open critic of the Taliban’s hardline regime has been arrested in Kabul, with his daughter on Sunday saying she now fears for his safety.
Professor Faizullah Jalal was arrested by the Taliban on Saturday after repeatedly speaking out on television against the country’s new rulers, who stormed back to power in August.
The hardline Islamists have since cracked down on dissent, forcefully dispersing women’s rights protests and briefly detaining several Afghan journalists.
Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted that Jalal had made statements on social media in which he was “trying to instigate people against the system”.
“He has been arrested so that others don’t make similar senseless comments … that harm the dignity of others,” he added.
His daughter Hasina Jalal, a fellow at Georgetown University in Washington, said that posts accusing the Taliban of considering ordinary Afghans as donkeys originate from a fake Twitter account.
“The Taliban are just using these posts as an excuse to silence a strong voice within the country,” Hasina told Agence France-Presse by phone.
She said her family has had no contact with Jalal who is being held in an unknown location.