RSF Condemns the Ban of a Private Afghan TV

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in a statement condemned the closure of the Emroz TV channel by the Afghan Council of Ministers

Reporters Without Borders called the action taken by the Afghan government for the blockage of the TV a new interference.

Some days ago, Emroz TV after being accused of endangering national unity and provoking friction was blocked by a decree issued by the Council of Ministers.

The organisation of Reporters Without Borders has urged the government not to violate the media law under any pressures and also sought the release of the TV broadcast.

"The government must not under any circumstances violate the media law, which gives the Media Commission sole decision-making authority when a media commits an offence," said RSF.

"We call on the government to rescind these decisions and never interfere in the content of Afghan TV stations again," it added.

At the same time, in a joint statement by the Union of Afghan Journalists and NAI, a press organisation, without defending the blocked TV, said that the Council of Ministers decision "could be hazardous for freedom of expression."

It was up to the media commission to come up with a decision about Afghan mass media in particular TVs, the statement further added.

After the establishment of the new Afghan government, media has developed tremendously and the government has always considered freedom of the media as one of its significant achievements in the past nine years.