‘They crushed my face against the concrete’

A portrait of Nematullah Naqdi, a journalist, who was beaten by the Taliban.

Two Afghan journalists were left with ugly welts and bruises after being beaten and detained for hours by Taliban fighters for covering a protest in Kabul.

The pair were picked up at a demonstration on Wednesday and taken to a police station in the capital, where they say they were punched and beaten with batons, electrical cables and whips after being accused of organising the protest.

“One of the Taliban put his foot on my head, crushed my face against the concrete. They kicked me in the head... I thought they were going to kill me,” photographer Nematullah Naqdi said.

Mr. Naqdi and his colleague Taqi Daryabi, a reporter, who both work for

Etilaat Roz (Information Daily) had been assigned to cover a small protest in front of a police station in Kabul by women demanding the right to work and education.