(9 Jan 2022) A relative of a popular university professor arrested by the Taliban in Afghanistan expressed her concern over his detainment on Sunday.
A Taliban spokesman said the group had arrested professor Faizuallah Jalal, a popular university professor and outspoken critic of successive Afghan governments, including the new rulers in Kabul.
"I am really sad and worried about him," his niece Sudaba Adina told The Associated Press.
"His sin is that he is living in Afghanistan and he was a truthful man," she said, adding that "he had the courage to criticize the government".
The group accused the professor of "nonsense remarks on social media, which were provoking people against the government and playing with people's dignity".
A spokesman said Jalal was being held by the Taliban's intelligence arm.
Meanwhile, a group of women protested in Kabul on Sunday demanding the professor's release.
They chanted slogans which included "talking is not a crime" and "professor Jalal's voice is the people's voice".
The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan after overrunning the capital Kabul last August.
The Islamic militant guerrillas-turned-rulers previously held power from 1996-2001.
Afghanistan faces a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, with the United Nations warning that 90% of the country's 38 million people are in dire need.
The arrest of a prominent rights activist was certain to complicate humanitarian aid efforts.
It also reinforced fears that the Taliban are imposing the same harsh and repressive rule as their last stint in power before they were ousted by a U.S.-led coalition for harboring al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
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