Afghan President’s Deputy Spokesperson, Shah Hussain Murtazawi, recently accused one of the journalists, Naseer Fayaz, of being on the payroll of the previous government. Mr. Murtazawi wrote on his Facebook Page that Mr. Fayaz received money from the government in exchange for asking questions that were delivered to him by the President’s media team during press conferences.
Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC) believes that such kind of insulting and defamatory statements by Deputy Spokesperson of the President goes against the principles of professional behavior, norms of governance, and stands against the country’s laws. AJSC calls on the office of the president as the supreme body of government to take serious disciplinary action regarding such unprofessional and inappropriate behavior. Moreover, such insulting and defamatory statements is punishable under the Penal Code of Afghanistan and the person making such claims, have to present legally acceptable evidence, otherwise, baseless allegations are subject to prosecution.
It worth mentioning that, this is not the first time that Mr. Murtazawi attacks and insults the media and journalists by making offensive statements. AJSC has recorded many cases of unprofessional and irresponsible behavior of Mr. Murtazawi. For instance, on December 16, 2018, during the morning show of Radio Arman, Mr. Murtazawi called the managers of Tolo News, Radio Arman and other media outlets illiterate.
The office of the president, knowing that such kind of behavior further increases the gap between the media community and the government, should strictly supervise the behavior of government spokespersons vis-à-vis media and journalists. If there are any legitimate complaints about the behavior of certain journalists or media outlets, they should be dealt with under the already existing legal framework.
We once again call on the office of the president to seriously follow-up this case and report the result to the media community. If the office of the President fails to take necessary actions about this, AJSC will refer the case to the judicial organs and will follow it up accordingly.