Afghanistan: Danish Siddiqui's killing is latest shocking journalist casualty

Call for better protection for journalists covering conflict following Reuters photographer’s death in town of Spin Boldak today

Responding to news of the death of Reuters journalist Danish Siddiqui - who was killed in the town of Spin Boldak in Afghanistan today while covering a clash between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters - Samira Hamidi, Amnesty International’s South Asia regional campaigner, said:

“The news of the killing of Danish Siddiqui is deeply shocking. We share our condolences with his family, friends and colleagues.  “Danish Siddiqui was a brave photojournalist, known for his searing images that carefully chronicled some of the worst humanitarian crises around the world.  “To preserve the fundamental right to freedom of expression and ensure public access to reliable information, reporters engaged in professional missions in areas of armed conflict must be provided with better protection measures by the authorities.”

According to Reuters, Siddiqui had been embedded with Afghan special forces based in the southern province of Kandahar, and had been reporting on fighting between Afghan commandos and Taliban fighters.

Danish Siddiqui had been a Reuters photographer since 2010, with work spanning the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Rohingya refugee crisis, protests in Hong Kong, India’s Covid-19 crisis and earthquakes in Nepal. He was part of the Reuters photography team that won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for documenting the Rohingya refugee crisis.

According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, 65 journalists and human rights defenders have lost their lives since 2018. Since the start of the peace negotiations, from September 2020 until May 2021, a total of 17 human rights defenders have been killed in the country, including nine journalists.