The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) expressed alarm over the report that a woman journalist, Jameela Rishteen Qadiry, reportedly received telephone calls threatening her with the same fate as that of murdered BBC journalist Abdul Samad Rohani in Afghanistan.
According to information received from an IFJ affiliate, the Afghan Independent Journalists' Association (AIJA), Qadiry, a reporter for Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty (RFERL), was given the chilling warnings in two anonymous phone calls that came within minutes of each other on June 12.
Qadiry's reporting, particularly on issues to do with the sensitive border between Afghanistan and Iran, was identified by the caller as the immediate reason for the threats.
According to IFJ, Qadiry has worked with RFERL for five years. For much of this time she was located in the most violence-prone provinces of Kandahar and Helmand. She transferred recently to the city of Heart, in Afghanistan's west.
A recording of the threats is available with AIJA. IFJ has urged Afghanistan's authorities to launch appropriate investigations, on the basis of all the available evidence. It also urged provincial authorities in Herat and Afghan national security agencies to ensure Qadiry is afforded appropriate protection, given her heightened vulnerability to attack.
