Human Rights Watch says journalist Elias Dai, who was killed in a car bombing in Afghanistan, received threats from the Taliban. He was killed for reporting on Taliban attacks. Dozens of Afghan journalists have also received threats from the Taliban in recent months.
A statement from Human Rights Watch said the slain Afghan journalist had told HRW about the Taliban's death threats.
The slain journalist had said that the Taliban had warned him to stop reporting on the attacks. The day before his death, Ilyas Da'i had informed his colleague about the danger to his life by e-mail.
Ilyas Dai's fellow journalists told Human Rights Watch that the Taliban searched Ilyas Dai's home and obtained information about his movements.
HRW says the killing of an Afghan journalist is a message to the Afghan media that reporting on the Taliban would endanger them. The assassination of an Afghan journalist raises serious doubts about the protection of freedom of expression.
