WASHINGTON — When Naveeda Khoshbo published her book of political analysis in 2019, she received widespread praise and recognition. For many, "it was the first time that they were reading a book written by a young woman," she said. So, when she received a text message from a friend and fellow journalist in November 2024, telling her the Taliban had banned her book, she was shocked. Khoshbo, 33, said she can't figure out why the book, "Siyasi Jaj" or "Political Analysis," was banned, saying "it did not address any sensitive topics." Published by the Peace Publish Center in Kabul, her book covers political events and processes from 2001 to 2019. But last year it was included in a list circulated on social media of more than 400 books banned by the Taliban. The list covers a range of topics: democracy, the arts, literature, poetry, history, religion, governance, rights and freedoms. The Taliban's deputy minister for the Ministry of

Reza Valizadeh, a dual-citizen Iranian American journalist imprisoned in Iran, ended his hunger strike after six days on Thursday out of concern for his mother, who went on the hunger strike with him. Valizadeh said family members asked him to end the strike because his mother’s physical and mental condition had severely deteriorated, and he had developed motor impairment and a weakened physical condition. Click here for the full story in Persian.

washington — A Guatemalan judge ordered prominent journalist Jose Ruben Zamora back to prison this week in a move that the leader of his legal team called “inhumane.” Zamora on Monday returned to Mariscal Zavala prison in Guatemala City on the orders of Judge Erick Garcia, whose decision came after another court revoked house arrest from the elPeriodico founder. The publisher is awaiting another trial in a money-laundering case that press freedom groups say is politically motivated. “We’re very troubled by what’s happening in Jose Ruben Zamora’s case, because what we’re seeing here is a total breakdown of rule of law in Guatemala,” Caoilfhionn Gallagher, who is leading Zamora’s international legal team, told VOA. “He obviously shouldn’t have spent a single day in prison. This latest revocation of his house arrest terms is legally problematic, grossly unfair and inhumane,” Gallagher added. Zamora, 67, attended the hearing on Monday. Near the end of his appearance, he called

WASHINGTON — The son of imprisoned pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai this week brought the campaign to secure his father’s release to the Trump administration in Washington. Nearly two months into President Donald Trump’s second term, Lai’s son Sebastien and their international legal team were in Washington this week to meet with Trump administration officials and lawmakers in hopes that the United States can help push for Lai’s release. Lai, a businessman and founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper in Hong Kong, stands accused of collusion with foreign forces and sedition under a Beijing-imposed national security law. He rejects the charges, but if convicted in an ongoing trial, he could face life in prison. "We were incredibly grateful that President Trump said that he will help release my father. It’s given us as a family a lot of hope," the younger Lai said at a Wednesday event at the Cato Institute think tank in

A High Court judge in Zimbabwe on Wednesday adjourned the case of a journalist arrested over his interviews with a war veteran-turned-politician who criticized the country's president. Blessed Mhlanga, a journalist with NewsDay and Heart and Soul Television, has been in custody since Feb. 24 over accusations of incitement. Lawyers for the journalist had requested that he be bailed out, but at a hearing in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, Justice Gibson Mandaza requested more time to examine the case. Chris Mhike, who represents Mhlanga, told VOA he was waiting for the High Court to announce when the case would resume. Mhike said it would be "improper" to go into the arguments because the case was active but said the judge "indicated that it was necessary for him to consider the issues that are at stake." Speaking ahead of Wednesday's hearing, Mhike said the arrest of Mhlanga sent a chilling message. The arrest is related to his interviews

A self-described member of a Russian organized crime group told a court on Tuesday that he tried to kill the Iranian American journalist and VOA host Masih Alinejad in New York in 2022. Khalid Mehdiyev told jurors that he was arrested in July 2022 in his car in Brooklyn while in possession of an AK-47 rifle and a ski mask. The 27-year-old made the admission in testimony at a trial in New York of his associates Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov, who are facing murder-for-hire and conspiracy charges. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran was allegedly behind the plot, according to prosecutors. Amirov and Omarov, both from Azerbaijan, have pleaded not guilty. If convicted, they face decades in prison. Media advocates say the case highlights how far the Iranian government will go to silence its critics. Iran’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately reply to VOA’s email requesting comment. Prosecutors say Amirov, 45, and Omarov,