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Taliban release prominent Afghan academic Faizullah Jalal
[DW] Family members of the well-known professor Faizullah Jalal announced news of his release on social media. He had been arrested by the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
 for "trying to instigate people."

A well-known Afghan professor who had been arrested by the Taliban over the weekend has been sprung.

Professor Faizullah Jalal was detained by the Islamist group on Saturday for allegedly making inflammatory statements on Twitter.

News of his release was made known by his daughter Hasina Jalal, who took to Twitter to confirm he had indeed been freed.

"After more than four days of detention on baseless charges," she wrote. "I confirm that Professor Jalal is now finally released!"

WHY WAS JALAL ARRESTED?
On Saturday, the academic's wife, Massouda Jalal, posted on Facebook that the Death Eater group had taken the professor from his home and that he was "transferred to an unknown place."

The Taliban's front man, Zabihullah Mujahid, said on Saturday that Jalal had made statements on Twitter that "were provoking people against the government and playing with people's dignity.''

Jalal's family said that the account cited by the Taliban was not the professor and was a fake account.

Hasina Jalal said she had reported the matter to Twitter on January 5, adding that her father had never been active on the platform.

AN OUTSPOKEN CRITIC
Shortly after news of Jalal's arrest circulated, there was an outpouring of support from various quarters. There was also condemnation with calls for the professor's immediate release.

Jalal has been an open critic of Afghanistan's leadership for years and has expressed his feelings on former Presidents Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai
...Former president of Aghanistan, part of the problem not part of the solution...
 and Ashraf Ghani
...former chancellor of Kabul University, ex-president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. When Biden abandoned the country left with a helicopter, four cars, and part of the national treasury...
In November, Jalal clashed with Taliban front man Mohammad Naeem during a television debate.

In addition to being heavily critical of the Taliban's policies, he referred to Naeem as a "calf."

The professor was widely praised by Taliban critics for his courage in expressing his views. At the time, many social media users changed their profile pictures to that of Jalal.
Posted by: trailing wife 2022-01-12
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=622215