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KabuL: Police Chief of Daikundi province – at a joint provincial committee meeting on Monday to investigate his aide’s violence against a local journalist – not only refused to address the case but insulted local journalists and even threatened a representative of Afghanistan Journalists Center who had called for a probe.
On Sunday, Sultan Ali Javadi, a radio reporter, was beaten by the police chief’s aide while interviewing a number of people who claimed their property had been stolen by thieves in the Berlan district. The victims said they were to share their complaint about the robbery with police Chief Mohammad Sadegh Moradi, who was at his dormitory at the time.
“I wanted to ask the police chief about the robbery and why he did not take action, but while I was taking pictures of the protesters, his assistant beat me and even insulted and humiliated me,” Javadi said.
Sayed Mohammad Anwar Shahab, a representative of Afghanistan Journalists Center in Daikundi, who is also the editor-in-chief of Radio Sada-e Qarya, said he had witnessed the mistreatment of the commander’s assistant with a Radio Nasim reporter.
Shahab said that the case of Javadi’s beating was raised at a meeting of the Joint Government and Media Committee chaired by Daikundi Deputy Governor Mohammad Ali Uruzgani. But, the police chief, Mohammad Sadegh Moradi, insulted the journalists instead of responding to the members of the committee on Javadi’s case, and insulted the representative of the Journalists’ Center, who called for a serious follow-up of the case, with harsh words. He even intended to have a physical confrontation.
Condemning the irresponsible and threatening treatment of the Daikundi Police Chief with journalists, he called on the Joint Government and Media Committee, chaired by Vice President Sarwar Danesh, to take both cases seriously.
Najibullah Maghsoudi, head of the Interior Ministry’s Committee to Investigate Violence against Journalists, told the Afghan Journalists Center that both cases would be seriously investigated and that the outcome would be presented at the next meeting of the Joint Committee, which is likely to take place this week.
