The United Nations mission monitors cases of arbitrary detention and ill-treatment in Afghanistan

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The United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan said on Thursday that the Taliban's morality police arbitrarily arrested hundreds of people and mistreated dozens between July and September, accusations denied by the Taliban. The mission stated that it documented 443 cases of arbitrary arrest and detention and 97 cases of ill-treatment by the morality police during that three-month period.

The mission said that these incidents were linked to allegations of violations of women's hijab rules, restrictions on beards and hairstyles, the imposition of prayer attendance, and a ban on music. When the Taliban returned to power five years ago, in light of the withdrawal of the United States and its allies from Afghanistan, they promised to rule more liberally than in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But rights groups said that these assertions quickly faded, with broad restrictions imposed on women. And girls. The mission recorded in its report four cases of killing and 14 cases of arbitrary detention carried out by former members of the Afghan security forces despite the announcement of a general amnesty after the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid rejected these findings, said that the detention operations were legal, and accused the mission of waging a propaganda campaign against the government.

The mission added that the cross-border incidents resulted in the killing of 13 civilians and the injury of 20 others during that period. She also spoke about the suspension of the work of a number of media outlets, and said that Afghan women are still prohibited from entering United Nations buildings.