Afghan TV station shuttered for vulgar content and working with exiled media

An Afghan TV station has been shuttered over allegedly vulgar content and working with exiled media, a government spokesman said Thursday.

The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice alleged that Arezo TV in Kabul was working with media outside Afghanistan and that it was paying temporary workers to dub “vulgar serials and programs” that went against Islamic and Afghan principles and traditions.

Ministry spokesman Saif ur Rahman Khyber added that the media organizations outside Afghanistan provided financial support for the work in question. He did not name the exiled media, but several outlets face heavy restrictions if not outright bans. In May, the government warned journalists against cooperating with Afghanistan International.

“In order to reform society and return to the correct path, it was necessary to investigate these problems seriously,” said Khyber. “The media is free to carry out their activities in line with Islamic principles and national interests.”

The Afghanistan Journalists Centre said police and ministry workers raided Arezo TV on Wednesday, resulting in the mistreatment of employees, confiscation of equipment including phones, and seven arrests.

Nobody from Arezo TV was available for comment.

Last month a U.N. report said there had been 256 arbitrary arrests or detention of journalists, and 130 cases of torture and ill-treatment since the Taliban returned to power three years ago.

Afghanistan fares poorly in terms of press freedom, with the latest index from Reporters without Borders ranking the country 178 out of 180. Last year, it ranked 152.

By The Associated Press