With increasing political and military tensions in the Middle East, Afghan journalists in Iran are concerned about their fate. Some Afghan journalists in Iran, speaking to Voice of Freedom (VOF), criticize the neglect and inattention of journalist support institutions and freedom-supporting countries, saying that they have been waiting for relocation to a safe country for over two years, but their request has not been addressed. Maqbul Noori, one of the dozens of Afghan journalists who have been stranded in Iran due to security threats for about two years, says, “With the increasing tensions between Iran and Israel, our concern about being deported to Afghanistan has increased.” He adds that there is a possibility of being detained and imprisoned if they return to Afghanistan. Afghan journalists in Iran are calling for immediate attention to their immigration cases from journalist support institutions and freedom-supporting countries.
Sardar Dahi, another Afghan journalist who has been waiting for his immigration case to be addressed by a European country for two years, says,
“We have been forgotten by the institutions and countries supporting freedom. The institutions supporting journalists do not respond to us.”
According to unofficial statistics, currently at least 80 Afghan journalists with their families are living in Iran. They have gone to Iran due to security threats from the Taliban towards journalists and media personnel after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. Writer: Rafiullah Nikzad