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Danish Siddiqui Foundation urges India to raise photojournalist's killing with Taliban foreign minister
The Danish Siddiqui Foundation cited ongoing visit of Afghanistan’s FM, Muttaqi, as a crucial opportunity for India to raise the issue diplomatically.
The Danish Siddiqui Foundation on Saturday appealed to the Indian government to take up the case of slain Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Danish Siddiqui with the visiting Taliban leadership, seeking justice through international mechanisms.
The Foundation cited the ongoing visit of Afghanistan’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, as a crucial opportunity for India to raise the issue diplomatically.
“As the Taliban Foreign Minister visits India, we renew our call for justice. Danish Siddiqui, an acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning Indian journalist, was captured, tortured, and killed in Afghanistan in 2021 while reporting from the field. We seek the assistance of the Government of India in pursuing justice through the International Criminal Court and the United Nations Human Rights Council accountability process," the Foundation said in a post on LinkedIn.
"The visit also provides an opportunity to remind the Taliban of its obligations under international humanitarian law and to encourage cooperation with independent investigations into Danish's killing,” the post read.
Danish Siddiqui, a photojournalist with Reuters, was killed in July 2021 while covering a clash between Afghan special forces and Taliban fighters in Spin Boldak.
Danish Siddiqui was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize on May 10, 2022, alongside Adnan Abidi, Sanna Irshad Mattoo, and Amit Dave, for powerful coverage of the Covid-19 crisis in India.
On March 22, 2022, Siddiqui’s parents filed a formal complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague against several top Taliban leaders, including:
-Hassan Akhund, head of the Taliban Leadership Council
-Abdul Ghani Baradar, chief spokesperson and head of the Taliban’s Political Office in Qatar
-Muhammad Yaqoob Mujahid, Taliban defence minister
-Gul Agha Sherzai, governor of Kandahar Province
-Zabiullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesperson
-Local commanders and individual perpetrators
Siddiqui was embedded with Afghan special forces in Spin Boldak at the time of the incident. He was injured during an attack and taken to a mosque, traditionally considered a place of refuge, for medical care.
The mosque was then reportedly attacked by Taliban forces. According to multiple reports, Siddiqui was taken into custody, tortured, and killed.
The Taliban’s elite Red Unit is believed to have been involved. Disturbing reports later claim that Siddiqui's body was mutilated and run over by a heavy vehicle in public.
