Afghanistan bars New York Times reporter from leaving country
New York Times reporter Matthew Rosenberg. (The New York Times)
Afghanistan’s attorney general banned a New York Times reporter from leaving the country Tuesday because of a controversial story about the country’s recent presidential election, the newspaper said.
Matthew Rosenberg, 40, who joined the Times in 2011 and splits his time between Kabul and Washington, was not being allowed to leave Afghanistan by the office of Attorney General Muhammad Ishaq Aloko. The ban was first reported by Afghanistan’s TOLO news television channel.
In response to an inquiry from the Committee to Protect Journalists, Rosenberg tweeted confirmation of the report. “Yes, the attorney general’s spokesman told us a short while ago about the travel ban,” he wrote. “They apparently told Tolo first.”
Times international editor Joe Kahn later said in a statement: “The Afghan attorney general’s office has advised Matthew Rosenberg that he must remain in Afghanistan while an investigation into his article is ongoing. We are eager to work with the Afghan authorities to resolve any concerns about the article, which we feel is fair and accurate.”
The Times reported that Rosenberg was called in for questioning about the article by a senior prosecutor, Gen. Sayed Noorullah Sadat, whose title is general director for crimes against external and internal security. It said Sadat asked Rosenberg to identify anonymous government sources quoted in the story and that Rosenberg refused.
The newspaper identified the article in question as one in Tuesday’s editions in which Rosenberg reported that a coterie of powerful Afghan officials with ties to the security forces was threatening to seize power if the country’s current election impasse remained unresolved. The article said the officials hoped that the mere threat of forming an interim government in what could amount to a coup would prompt two rival presidential candidates to compromise and end the crisis.
The newspaper said the case marked “the fourth time this year that the Afghan government has threatened or initiated legal action against The Times because of complaints by senior Afghan officials over articles it has published.”
Former finance minister Ashraf Ghani and former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah have been locked in a dispute over a presidential runoff vote in June. Afghanistan’s official Independent Election Commission reported last month that Ghani was ahead in preliminary results. Abdullah, who finished on top in a first round of voting in April but fell short of a majority, charged that he was the victim of massive electoral fraud.
A U.N.-backed recount was initiated, and Secretary of State John F. Kerry undertook a mediation effort to bring the two sides together, but they have continued to squabble. The dispute threatens to destabilize Afghanistan at a time when its security forces are struggling to assume greater responsibility in the fight against the radical Islamist Taliban movement and as the United States moves to withdraw combat troops by the end of the year.
Washington also has been awaiting the inauguration of a new president willing to sign a bilateral security agreement that would allow the United States to maintain a residual force in Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai, who was not allowed to run for reelection because of term limits, has refused to sign the agreement, insisting that it be left to his successor.
TOLOnews reported the action against Rosenberg on its Twitter feed but did not immediately provide details.
Before joining the Times, Rosenberg was a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, covering stories in Afghanistan and South Asia. He previously worked for the Associated Press and reported from South Asia, the Middle East, East Africa and the Caribbean.
Paul Farhi contributed to this report.
