Afghan journalist detained, US reporter expelled
RSF has called on the Pakistani government to provide information about Afghan journalist Sami Yousafzai, who has been held secretly by the security forces since April 21, 2004. Yousafzai was arrested in the tribal areas, where he was working with American reporter Eliza Griswold, who was later expelled from the country. Their driver is also reported to be missing.
On April 21, Griswold, a freelance reporter and regular contributor to the American weekly The New Yorker, Yousafzai, a stringer for Newsweek magazine, and their driver were arrested at a checkpoint in Bakhakhel, near Bannu, as they attempted to enter North Waziristan. The American journalist was wearing a burqa to avoid being identified. A few hours earlier, the journalists had been turned back at the Jandola checkpoint and not allowed to enter the South Waziristan tribal area.
A local official told RSF the three were questioned for several hours and then allowed to return towards Peshawar. But Pakistani security forces, or the intelligence services (ISI), according to some sources, rearrested them near Bannu. Griswold was expelled to the United States a few days later, but Yousafzai and his driver are still being held in a secret location.
Yousafzai’s family, who live in Peshawar, alerted Newsweek magazine, to which the journalist contributes regular reports on Afghanistan. He lived in Peshawar for many years before returning to Kabul after the fall of the Taliban.
Yousafzai reportedly worked as a fixer for Griswold in the tribal areas. They did not have the special authorization demanded by the Pakistani authorities since the start of the Pakistani military offensive against armed Taliban and al-Qaeeda groups in South Waziristan’s Wana area.
RSF urged the authorities to provide information on the whereabouts of Yousafzai and his driver. The organization called for their immediate release if, in fact, they were arrested simply for reporting in Pakistan’s tribal areas. RSF further noted that the security forces’ poor treatment of journalist Khawar Mehdi Rizvi during his recent detention made it fear the worst for Yousafzai and his driver.
No foreign journalist has been able to travel to the region with official authorization. However, dozens of journalists from the tribal areas and Pakistani reporters have been able to work in the area freely.
Source: RSF
Date:4/27/2004
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