On 18 July 2026, six human rights defenders employed by the Women and Children Legal Research Foundation (WCLRF) in Afghanistan were arbitrarily detained and subjected to enforced disappearance. On 22 September 2026, five of these individuals were released, yet Mr. Abdul Matin Hakimi remains in custody after being transferred to Bargan prison.
The Detention Timeline
According to information received by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders through SOS-Defenders, Taliban intelligence forces raided the WCLRF office in Kabul on 21 June 2026. During this operation, authorities confiscated staff phones and laptops, searched the premises, sealed them, and questioned employees regarding the organization’s activities. On 18 July 2026, staff members including Abdul Qadir Hammedi, Sultan Ali Rahimi, Hamid Ahmad Saddiqi, Ahmad Sayem Hazim, Besmillah Bahin, and Abdul Matin Hakimi were instructed by the Taliban to return to the office to retrieve their confiscated devices. Instead, they were taken into custody by intelligence forces.
The group remained in detention for more than two months until the release of five members on 22 September 2026. The remaining defender, Mr. Hakimi, continues to be held without legal safeguards. Authorities failed to provide families with information regarding the whereabouts, condition, or legal grounds for the detention of any of the defenders during this period.
Risks and International Obligations
The defenders were reportedly targeted due to their work with WCLRF, an Afghan organization focused on women’s and children’s rights. The absence of legal procedures raises serious concerns about the risk of torture and ill-treatment, a risk documented in a 2025 OMCT report concerning Taliban Directorate of Intelligence facilities.
This incident occurs within a broader context of restricted civic space and reprisals against human rights defenders in Afghanistan. UN Special Rapporteur reports highlight continued restrictions on freedom of expression and association between November and August 2026. Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban have implemented measures that the Special Rapporteur described in 2024 as an institutionalized system of discrimination against women and girls, potentially amounting to crimes against humanity.
The signatory organizations, including the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), condemn the arbitrary detention and call on the Taliban authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Abdul Matin Hakimi. They urge the authorities to clarify the legal basis for his deprivation of liberty, conduct an independent investigation into the enforced disappearance, and ensure that all human rights defenders can operate freely without fear of retaliation.
This report was produced by the HuMedia newsroom.
