A number of journalists were “mistreated” and “beaten up” by police when they were reporting on security forces’ raid on an Afghan-Turk school in downtown Kabul on Friday morning.

The Afghan-Turk Kabul Ariana Boys High School was handed over the Turkish government along with other four schools which were previously run by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).

Reporters said police prevented them from filming the “violent” treatment of the security forces against students of the Afghan-Turk school in Shah-e-Do Shamshira area in Kabul.

Footage by TOLOnews cameraman shows that police are preventing filming the incident and are mistreating teachers and relatives of the Afghan-Turk students.

TOLOnews cameraman Hamid Rahim said Najib Sarterai, the deputy head of Kabul police, beaten him up to prevent him from filming the police raid.

“He attacked my camera but failed to grab it and when I moved, he beat me up with a pipe and electric shock baton on my back,” he said.

The incident surprisingly happened near the Freedom of the Press Road in Kabul.

“This police function shows that what they did is illegal,” said Shahpoor Farahmand, a reporter.

A cameraman from Ariana News was also among those beaten up by the police. His phone and camera were taken by police.

“When I came back to take my camera, they took me from my clothes like a 'dog'; they treated me with bad words, and they throw me out of the crowd in front of all the people,” said Sami Jahish, a cameraman from Ariana News.

A number of lawyers said the police treatment with journalists is a violation of the law.

“In fact, they (police) do not respect the Afghanistan Constitution and freedom of expression and violate the law,” said Nasrullah Stanikzai a university lecturer.

The Ministry of Interior said in a statement that the incident will be investigated and the result will be shared with media. 

“No police officer has the right to insult, humiliate and attack any other Afghan citizen. This issue will be probed and we will share the outcome of the investigation within the next 24 hours,” said Nusrat Rahimi a spokesman for Ministry of Interior.  

The incident was criticized by journalists’ rights institutions.