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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan Journalists' Identities Falsely Assumed by Evacuees |
| 2021-09-28 |
| [ToloNews] Journalists at a gathering in Kabul on Monday called on the caretaker government and the international community to investigate cases of people falsely assuming journalists' identities to evacuate the country. The journalists said some institutions in Afghanistan have evacuated their employees and relatives under the name of news hounds while the real news hounds are stranded in the country. According to the journalists, some institutions also issue fake ID cards and journalistic documents for people and use those documents for evacuation. "Some people have misused the name of journalists, made up fake documents and have evacuated their employees," said Serajuddin Patan, a news hound. "I know that a number of institutions in Kabul and in the provinces issue fake journalists documents in exchange for $100," said Mukhtar Ibrahimi, a news hound. According to organizations supporting free media in Afghanistan, since August 15 over 150 media outlets have ceased operating. Frozan Khalilyar, a news hound said: "A female news hound phoned me and said if you know any institution that needs a cook or a cleaner, let me know. I am in a very bad economic situation." Farkhunda Mohibi, a news hound, said: "After the fall of the former government, most of the women have lost their jobs and now they face severe financial problems." Hujatullah Mujaddadi, the deputy head of the Afghanistan Federation of Journalists, said the federation, along with the security institutions, has started an investigation into the issuance of fake documents and the evacuation of people under the name of journalists. "We are investigating the institutions that issue fake journalistic documents and send people out of the country under the name of journalists. We are also investigating the issue of Kam Air," said Mujaddadi. Afghan journalists voiced their concerns over the misuse of their names for evacuation as Bloomberg News reported that Kam Air, an Afghan private airline company, transferred at least 155 family members of the company's leadership from Afghanistan to Abu Dhabi. Based on the report, the flight was intended to evacuate journalists and other qualified persons out of the country, but families of the airline's leadership were crammed into the half-empty plane at the last moment. Bloomberg has cited a number of US officials that the Afghan airline-Kam Air- has evacuated 155 relatives of the owner of the airline and colleagues impersonating to be Afghan journalists and media workers. As per the US officials, they planned to fly out 188 vulnerable Afghan journalists from Kabul International Airport to Abu Dhabi. The journalists’ advocate groups in Afghanistan say that Kam Air has committed a crime by stealing the identity of journalists which is a crime and asked the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to bring to justice the culprits. Another group has asked both the Taliban and international journalists’ advocates to investigate the case impartially and punish those who committed the crime. As per the report of Bloomberg, the people who have been evacuated are still in Abu Dhabi. This is not the first time that people leave Afghanistan pretending to be Afghan journalists, hundreds of people have been flown out by different advocacies and associations in Afghanistan. And from Tolo News: Bloomberg News reported that Kam Air, an Afghan private airline company, transferred at least 155 family members of the company's leadership to Abu Dhabi.Based on the report, the flight was intended to evacuate journalists and other qualified persons out of the country, but families of the airline's leadership were crammed into the half-empty plane at the last moment. After the airplane landed in the United Arab Emirates, the US State department discovered the evacuees were not on the list, according to the report Officials at Kam Air denied the claims, saying the company was not picking evacuees. The company was only responsible for transferring them, they said. “We had only two flights--to Abu Dhabi and Tbilisi. They went according to the list. Because many people remain in Afghanistan, they make these claims that Kam Air took some families and relatives,” said Mohammad Dawood Sharifi, Kam Air chief executive. The passengers who were allegedly not on the list are reportedly still in Abu Dhabi and their fate is uncertain. Meanwhile, sources at the airline said that several people related to the chairman of the company were on the flight. "I am a journalist working here, and still here. This has negatively affected my soul that someone misused my identity ( being a journalist ) and went out of the country, said Jawad Etimad, a journalist. "Every person from any address that committed this action should be accountable," said Ahmad Shuaib Fana, chief executive of the Afghanistan National Journalist Association. Kam Air international flights are currently only to Pakistan from Mazar-e-Sharif. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #1 Gee, identity theft in the land of thievery. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2021-09-28 07:53 |