The Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has arrested two individuals for allegedly translating and dubbing foreign television series containing what officials called “Western content.”
According to ministry spokesperson Saif al-Khyber al-Salam, the detainees were promoting Western culture and ideas and had also been in contact with foreign media outlets.
In a video released by the Taliban, one of the arrested individuals claimed that a team of 30 men and women had been involved in dubbing and translating the series. The detainee expressed remorse in the video, though the circumstances under which the confession was recorded remain unclear.
While the ministry did not disclose when the arrests occurred, officials confirmed that several media production heads had also been detained and their offices shuttered.
The crackdown comes amid a broader wave of repression in Kabul, where Taliban enforcers have reportedly detained hundreds of women in recent days.
Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on the media and freedom of expression, including bans on foreign TV programming and music. The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue, alongside Taliban intelligence services, exercises strict control over media content, often resorting to intimidation and threats.
Global press freedom groups and human rights organisations have denounced the Taliban’s actions as part of a wider campaign to stifle access to information and suppress civil liberties.
