Dr. Hussain Yasa Chairman AMRC Abducted

KABUL – The Chairman of Afghanistan Media and Research Center (AMRC), Dr. Hussain Yasa, was mysteriously abducted from Dar ul Aman neighborhood in Kabul on Monday evening. According to AMRC sources, he has been abducted by National Directorate of Security (NDS) for criticizing government policies.

“Dr. Hussain Yasa has been a prominent member of Afghanistan Media, South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) and World Association of Newspapers (WAN). He has always strived for the independence of media in Afghanistan society. Though there have been claims by Afghanistan government that media has been given due freedom, it has yet to suffer the misuse of authority and dominance by the relevant authorities,” Vice-Chairman AMRC, Kazim Ali Gulzari said.

Daily Outlook Afghanistan (English) and Daily Afghanistan (Dari/Pashto), which are two credible newspapers of AMRC and have always tried to raise the voice of the common people of Afghanistan by giving coverage to issues and problems that influence the Afghan society, and supporting the endeavors of international community in Afghanistan and encouraging true democratic values and principles, which include free and fair election system, decentralization of power, good governance and eradication of corruption.

“AMRC, insisting on the freedom of speech and independence of media, raise voice against this condemnable action and demand that the authorities must fulfill their obligations responsibly towards the country instead of dominating media through misuse of authority,” Gulzari further added.

Afghanistan National Front (ANF) leaders, including Chairman Ahmad Zia Massoud, Haji Muhammad Mohaqqiq, Gen. Abdur Rashid Dostum and Amrullah Saleh (former NDS Chief), in a joint statement, strongly condemned the abduction of Dr. Hussain Yasa.

“President Karzai, who has kept on showing that he cares about the freedom of speech and media and promulgation of democratic values, must play a role to ensure the security of Dr. Yasa and make sure that the government authorities do not irritate media and media personnel,” the statement stated.

Source: Kabul Press^?