SECURITY — June 23, 2026
Taliban Justice Minister Detains Shia Elders for Raising Muharram Flags
At least 30 Shia individuals, including the deputy of the Mosque Security Commission, are held in the justice minister's personal prison and will not be freed until mourning flags are removed from Shia mosques and Hussainiyas.
The Ehtebar Desk — originates with Afghanistan International — 2 min read
Taliban Justice Minister Abdul Hakim Shari summoned several prominent Shia figures to the Ministry of Justice in Kabul on Tuesday, the second of Saratan. Those summoned included Fakuri Beheshti, Hayatullah Alami, Sufi Gardizi, Sheikh Nateqi, and Nematullah Ghaffari. The individuals were detained at the ministry from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and required to provide commitments to implement orders by 5 p.m.
At least 30 Shia individuals are held in the justice minister's personal prison. Among them is Zia, deputy of the Mosque Security Commission. Officials stated the detainees will not be released until mourning flags are removed from all Shia mosques and Hussainiyas.
The detentions followed raids conducted by Taliban forces on Shia mosques in Kabul on Monday. During the raids, flags were torn down and at least nine people were arrested. The Shia Ulema Council of Afghanistan issued a statement calling for security of mourning ceremonies.
Read the original reporting at Afghanistan International →
Reliability assessment
Single source with all information attributed to unnamed/anonymous local sources and no on-record statements from officials or other corroboration.
The source language mixes facts with framing or advocacy wording. Afghanistan International: "detains ... "For Raising Muharram Flags"" and "personal prison of the Taliban Ministry of Justice's minister" use loaded framing to portray the detentions as arbitrary punishment for a religious practice and imply abusive conditions.
Independent web corroboration
An independent web search turned up no separate corroborating reports. Treat the account as single-sourced until more outlets pick it up.
Across the newsrooms
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Afghanistan International
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Security — Taliban, Shia, Muharram, Kabul, detentions
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