Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers release 2 U.N. staff members more than a week after detaining them

The United Nations has reported that it has released two of its staff members who had been detained by Afghanistan's Taliban rulers over a week ago. The reason for their detention remains unknown. The two men were detained in the western city of Herat on August 9. U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric stated that the two detainees were released on Thursday morning and appeared to be in good health.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has not been formally informed of the reasons behind the detainees' arrest and is still following up with the de facto authorities. UNAMA understands that the charges against the two have been dropped. Human Rights Watch had previously reported on July 18 that six senior members from the Women and Children Legal Research Foundation had been detained after being told to come to their office to retrieve confiscated laptops and phones.

The six individuals were still in custody as of Thursday. The Taliban, who took control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, have imposed strict measures that have effectively barred women and girls from education beyond primary school and restricted women's employment.