Kabul – July 24: Shahpour Naibzadeh, journalist and former managing director of Hama News Agency, has published a detailed account of the incident on the first anniversary of the Taliban forces’ attack on the joint office of the Afghan Media Organization, Hama News Agency, and the Mutahid Development and Charity Foundation. He stated that the attack involved violence, detention, torture, confiscation of media equipment, and ultimately the forced migration of several journalists.
According to Naibzadeh, on the morning of Thursday, July 24, 2025, corresponding to 2 Asad 1404 in the Afghan calendar, Taliban intelligence forces, accompanied by employees of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, entered the joint office of the Afghan Media Organization in a pre-planned operation.
He said that at the time of the raid, he was in his office carrying out his daily duties. Minutes after returning from a condolence ceremony, armed individuals entered the building and, without presenting any warrant or explanation, dragged him out of his office through physical force and violence.
According to his account, all office staff, including journalists, administrative employees, and trainees, were gathered in the hallway with insults, threats, and violence, and were forced to sit facing the wall for hours. Taliban forces warned them that no one was allowed to raise their heads.
Naibzadeh said that during the operation, the mobile phones of all employees were collected, their passwords were recorded, and individuals were taken one by one for interrogation.
He added that during the raid, Abu Zar Sar-e-Puli, Mohammad Bashir Hatef, Shakib Ahmad Nazari, and Professor Abdulhossein Yaser were among those interrogated. He claimed that the sounds of screams and cries resulting from torture could be heard from the interrogation room.
He also alleged that Abu Zar Sar-e-Puli and Mohammad Bashir Hatef were severely beaten in front of other employees, including female journalists. Regarding Mohammad Bashir Hatef, he claimed that his artificial hair was forcibly removed from his head, causing bleeding.
Shahpour Naibzadeh stated that he himself was repeatedly beaten with fists, kicks, and plastic pipes during interrogation, and was questioned about the structure of the Afghan Media Organization, Hama News Agency, the Mutahid Development and Charity Foundation, and his colleagues.
According to him, after the interrogations ended, Taliban intelligence forces confiscated all media equipment, including computers, laptops, photography and video cameras, hard drives, documents, files, and other work-related materials, and removed them from the office.
Naibzadeh said that at the end of the operation, only some employees were allowed to leave the office, while Abu Zar Sar-e-Puli, Mohammad Bashir Hatef, and Shakib Ahmad Nazari were taken away by intelligence forces.
He added that in the following days and weeks, Taliban intelligence forces repeatedly visited the office and inquired about his whereabouts and that of Professor Abdulhossein Yaser.
According to him, this situation forced him, with the assistance of friends and some journalists living in Pakistan and France, to obtain an emergency visa for Pakistan, and he left Afghanistan on August 15, 2025.
Naibzadeh also stated that while leaving through Kabul Airport, he was repeatedly questioned by security forces, but eventually managed to leave Afghanistan with his wife.
At the end of his account, he wrote:
“July 24 is not just a date for me; it is the day when I buried all my hopes in Afghanistan, was separated from my elderly parents, and was forced to take the path of migration. I hope that one day I will return to my homeland and live alongside my family again.”
Source: Shahpour Naibzadeh’s personal account and memories of the July 24, 2025 incident. This report is based on the testimony of an eyewitness.
