Current:Home > StocksFour local employees of Germany’s main aid agency arrested in Afghanistan-InfoLens
Four local employees of Germany’s main aid agency arrested in Afghanistan
View Date:2024-12-23 11:37:22
BERLIN (AP) — Taliban authorities in Afghanistan arrested four local employees of Germany’s main government-owned aid agency, according to the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
“I can confirm that the local employees of GIZ are in custody although we have not received any official information on why they are detained,” a ministry spokeswoman told the Associated Press in a statement late Saturday.
“We are taking this situation very seriously and are working through all channels available to us to ensure that our colleagues are released,” she added.
The German Agency for International Cooperation, or GIZ, is owned by the German government. It operates in around 120 countries worldwide, offering projects and services in the areas of “economic development, employment promotion, energy and the environment, and peace and security,” according to the agency’s website.
The Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, after the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from the country. Many foreign missions, including the German embassy in Kabul, closed down their offices.
The Taliban initially promised a more moderate approach than during their previous rule from 1996 to 2001 but gradually reimposed their harsh interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia.
Girls were banned from education beyond the sixth grade and women were barred from working, studying, traveling without a male companion, and even going to parks or bathhouses and forced to cover up from head to toe.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in September that human rights are in a state of collapse in Afghanistan more than two years following the Taliban’s return to power and stripped back institutional protections at all levels.
veryGood! (35932)
Related
- Full House Star Dave Coulier Shares Stage 3 Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Diagnosis
- Danny Meyer and Tom Colicchio on humble beginnings and enduring legacy of NYC's Gramercy Tavern
- Sean Penn says he felt ‘misery’ making movies for years. Then Dakota Johnson knocked on his door
- Protests over Kenya tax hike proposal reportedly turn deadly in Nairobi
- Real Housewives of New York City Star’s Pregnancy Reveal Is Not Who We Expected
- NTSB derailment investigation renews concerns about detectors, tank cars and Norfolk Southern
- ChatGPT gave incorrect answers to questions about how to vote in battleground states
- US sanctions Boeing for sharing information about 737 Max 9 investigation
- Hill House Home’s Once-A-Year Sale Is Here: Get 30% off Everything & up to 75% off Luxury Dresses
- What is the federal law at the center of the Supreme Court’s latest abortion case?
Ranking
- Taylor Swift drops Christmas merchandise collection, including for 'Tortured Poets' era
- House Republicans ramp up efforts to enforce Garland subpoena after contempt vote
- No human remains are found as search crews comb rubble from New Mexico wildfires
- Take 60% Off Lilly Pulitzer, 70% Off West Elm, 76% Off BaubleBar, 45% Off Ulta & More Deals
- Kirk Herbstreit berates LSU fans throwing trash vs Alabama: 'Enough is enough, clowns'
- The Daily Money: ISO affordable housing
- Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Victoria Kalina Shares Past Struggles With Eating Disorder and Depression
- US journalist Evan Gershkovich goes on secret espionage trial in Russia
Recommendation
-
Cavaliers' Darius Garland rediscovers joy for basketball under new coach
-
The Supreme Court rules for Biden administration in a social media dispute with conservative states
-
EPA Urges US Army to Test for PFAS in Creeks Flowing Out of Former Seneca Army Depot
-
7 in 10 Americans think Supreme Court justices put ideology over impartiality: AP-NORC poll
-
Video shows Starlink satellite that resembled fireball breaking up over the Southwest: Watch
-
Elaine Thompson-Herah to miss Paris Olympics after withdrawing from trials
-
Prospect of low-priced Chinese EVs reaching US from Mexico poses threat to automakers
-
Skye Blakely injures herself on floor during training at U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials