IEA court to rule on validity of media licenses

The Ministry of Information and Culture of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) said a court decision will be made on Thursday regarding the validity of licenses of a number of media outlets.

However, Abdulhaq Emad, head of the publication department of the Ministry of Information and Culture, rejected reports that the court decision will be made in the absence of ten media managers.

“Some biased media have written in my words that the court is making a decision against the managers of ten media in absentia. This is completely wrong,” Emad tweeted.

“The truth is that for a year we have been receiving complaints about several small media outlets that broadcast against national interests and values. We have repeatedly asked those responsible for these media [outlets]… to give an explanation and respect the principles, but they did not pay attention to our requests; so we submitted their files to the court to decide on the legality of the licenses,” Emad tweeted.

He added that the court will rule on Thursday in the presence of the media companies’ lawyers.