Our colleague Mortaza Behboudi, who was aged two when his parents took him and his brother with them into exile in Iran, began his career as a photojournalist during the Iranian ‘Green Movement’ uprising in 2009. He was then aged 15. In 2012, he returned to his native Afghanistan, where he took up studies and developed his passion for journalism. But in 2015, when the Taliban and the so-called Islamic State group had created what he called information “black holes” across the country, he was forced to flee Kabul.
After an exhausting journey, during which he endured racism, sleeping rough, and relying on soup kitchens for nourishment, he finally arrived in France and found refuge at the ‘Maison des journalistes’ in Paris, a structure that offers accommodation and administrative support for professional journalists forced into exile. He was granted refugee status in France, and later obtained French nationality.
He co-founded Guiti News, an online magazine focused on migration issues, and expanded his activities as a freelance journalist. Following the return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan in August 2021, he went back to the country to carry out numerous reports. His first article for Mediapart on the situation there was published on August 21st 2021, and can be found here (in French).
He subsequently accompanied within Afghanistan news crews from major French broadcasters France Télévisions, Arte, TV5 Monde and TMC. For Mediapart, he and our journalist Rachida El Azzouzi travelled around Afghanistan in January 2022 to report on life under the Taliban, published by Mediapart in a major series (articles, photos and videos) entitled “À travers l’Afghanistan sous les talibans” . Their reporting won an award in the print category at last year’s Bayeux war correspondent awards, and was also awarded the Varenne Prize in the national daily press category. Mortaza and Rachida co-directed a documentary (see below) on the situation of women under the rule of the Taliban, entitled “Ils ne nous effaceront pas. Le combat des femmes afghanes” (They won’t erase us: the combat of Afghan women).
On January 7th 2023, two days after arriving in Kabul, Mortaza was arrested and placed in detention while he was going through the process of applying for official press accreditation, the key documentation without which no journalist can exercise their profession in Afghanistan. According to diverse sources, Mortaza has been accused of spying, but no charges have officially been brought against him by the Taliban regime.
During several weeks following his arrest he had no contact with those close to him, except for a one-minute phone conversation with his wife, Aleksandra Mostovaja, held under the close surveillance of a Taliban guard. Since very recently, he has been allowed timed, but weekly, visits from members of his family.
Mortaza’s “adopted” town of choice in France is Douarnenez, in the north-west region of Brittany, where local campaigners have mounted a support committee calling for his release. In a recent interview with regional daily Ouest France, Aleksandra Mostovaja said she had received two letters from him in which he wrote that he was able to read books. She told the daily he asked her “to read the same book as him, so that we are together, in a certain manner”, adding that “he is doing everything to remain solid”. The two letters were passed to her by members of the International Red Cross who had been able to visit Mortaza on two occasions.
She also explained that the Paris-based NGO for the defence of freedom of the press, Reporters sans frontières (RSF, Reporters Without Borders), “has a channel of communication open with the Taliban, unlike the French government which is discussing with a Taliban representative in Doha”. That is because France does not officially recognise the Taliban regime as a legitimate government. “I feel that he will be released,” she added. “Soon? About that, really I am not at all sure. One must accept that possibility and fight.”
Doing that alongside her is a support committee co-ordinated by RSF, which has taken his case to the United Nations. The committee, created on February 9th, brings together 15 editorial teams and production companies for who Mortaza has worked, including Mediapart, and who have co-signed an appeal for his release from detention.
As strongly as ever, we call on the Taliban regime to put an end to this senseless situation. And we call on the French authorities to step up their efforts for obtaining his freedom.
On March 16th 2022, in our regular studio discussion programme “Les rendez-vous de Mediapart”, Mortaza and Rachida El Azzouzi recounted their experiences during their joint series of reports from Afghanistan in January last year. In the extract presented below, Mortaza talks about the essential but unsung role of local journalists turned fixers for the international press, in Afghanistan as in Ukraine.
On April 22nd this year, behind bars in a Taliban jail, Mortaza turned 29. We dearly hope to very soon see him safely back among us.
On January 7th 2023, two days after arriving in Kabul, Mortaza was arrested and placed in detention while he was going through the process of gaining official accreditation, the key documentation without which no journalist can exercise their profession in Afghanistan. According to diverse sources, Mortaza has been accused of spying, but no charges have officially been brought against him by the Taliban regime.
During several weeks following his arrest he had no contact with those close to him, except for a one-minute phone conversation with his wife, Aleksandra Mostovaja, held under the close surveillance of a Taliban guard. Since very recently, he has been allowed timed, but weekly, visits from members of his family.
Mortaza’s “adopted” town of choice in France is Douarnenez, in the north-west region of Brittany, where local campaigners have mounted a support committee calling for his release. In a recent interview with regional daily Ouest France, Mortaza’s wife Aleksandra Mostovaja said she had received two letters from him in which he wrote that he was able to read books. She told the daily he asked her “to read the same book as him, so that we are together, in a certain manner”, adding that “he is doing everything to remain solid”. The two letters were passed to her by members of the International Red Cross who has been able to visit Mortaza on two occasions.
She also explained that the Paris-based NGO Reporters sans frontières (RSF, Reporters Without Borders) “has a channel of communication open with the Taliban, unlike the French government which is discussing with a Taliban representative in Doha”. That is because the French government does not officially recognise the Taliban regime. “I feel that he will be released,” she added. “Soon? About that, really I am not at all sure. One must accept that possibility and fight.”
Doing that alongside her is a support committee co-ordinated by RSF, which has taken his case to the United Nations. The committee, created on February 9th, brings together 15 editorial teams and production companies for who Mortaza has worked, including Mediapart, and who have co-signed an appeal for his release from detention.
We strongly call on the Taliban regime to put an end to this senseless situation. And we call on the French authorities to step up their efforts for obtaining his freedom.
On March 16th 2022, in our regular studio discussion programme “Les rendez-vous de Mediapart”, Mortaza and Rachida El Azzouzi recounted their experiences during their joint series of reports from Afghanistan in January last year, an extract from which is presented in the video below.
On April 22nd this year, behind bars in a Taliban jail, Mortaza turned 29. We very dearly hope, and rightfully expect, to very soon see him safely among us once again.