Taliban Detain Civil Rights Activist After Deportation from Iran

(PARWAN, AFGHANISTAN) Taliban intelligence agents detained Afghan civil rights activist Mojtaba Mohammadi in Parwan province in late August 2025, four days after his forced return from Iran, according to family members and civil society sources. They say he was taken from the Bayan Olya area and has been held in Charikar, Parwan’s provincial capital, without access to a lawyer or any public legal process.

As of September 15, 2025, sources report he remains in custody, facing severe physical and psychological abuse, with his exact location unknown.

Case significance and reactions

Mohammadi’s case connects two fast-moving crises: Iran’s mass deportation of Afghans and the Taliban’s campaign against dissent and returnees. Afghan and international groups — including women’s protest movements and human rights organizations — have issued urgent appeals demanding his immediate release.

They argue that keeping a civil activist in incommunicado detention violates basic rights and is part of a broader effort to silence those who speak up. The Taliban have not issued a public statement about Mohammadi or explained the legal basis for his arrest.

“Keeping a civil activist in incommunicado detention violates basic rights,” say rights groups and family members. The lack of transparency has fueled urgent international appeals.

Pattern of detentions and lack of due process

The timing of Mohammadi’s detention mirrors a wider pattern reported through 2025. Rights monitors say returnees who have any public profile—activists, journalists, former officials, and especially women who took part in civic work—face quick surveillance and high risk of arrest.

Common features of the pattern:

• Families often learn of detentions through informal channels.
• Information about detention sites or charges is scarce.
• Legal processes remain opaque; appeals or access to counsel are often blocked.
• In Mohammadi’s case, sources say no charges have been presented and his family cannot visit him.

While Taliban leadership has repeatedly claimed a general amnesty for former regime affiliates and returnees, rights groups and UN reporting describe a different reality: ongoing arbitrary detentions, torture, threats, and a climate of fear. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Taliban leaders related to gender-based persecution, underscoring global concern about treatment of women and girls.

International protection principle and humanitarian impact

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has stressed that no one should be sent back to a place where they face persecution based on who they are or what they have done. That principle — barring forced return when someone faces harm — is central to international protection.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the current deportations and ensuing detentions have created a fast-moving humanitarian emergency. The crisis affects high-profile activists and ordinary families with children, many of whom are returning to provinces with limited jobs, food, and shelter.

Mass deportations from Iran in 2025

Key facts and timeline:

• Iran has deported more than 1.5 million Afghans in 2025, with at least 70% described as forced removals.
• Children make up about 25% of those expelled.
• Deportations surged after the Iran-Israel conflict and a July 6, 2025 deadline for undocumented migrants to leave, pushing daily expulsions from roughly 5,000 to as high as 30,000, according to rights monitors.
• Reports indicate even Afghans with legal residency were affected during this spike.

A policy shift in March 2025 worsened the situation: Iran’s Ministry of Interior announced that all Afghan “headcount” documents (bargeh-e sarshomari) would expire automatically as of March 20, 2025. These papers had offered access to basic services like schooling and health care. Their sudden expiration stripped hundreds of thousands of status and left them exposed to arrest and removal.

At the same time, state rhetoric in Iran grew harsher. Authorities and state media tied Afghans to security risks, discussed espionage, and aired forced confessions. Civil society groups say these broadcasts increased public hostility and helped justify mass expulsions. The result has been a cycle of:

1. Mass sweeps and detention in Iran
2. Forced returns at border points
3. Quick Taliban surveillance and arrests of returnees, especially former activists

Risks facing returnees and community impact

Returnees face a tight set of dangers. Rights groups describe the following pattern:

1. Identification and arrest in Iran, including people with expired or valid documents
2. Detention in holding centers, where detainees report abuse and forced confessions
3. Forced return by land without individual reviews
4. Monitoring and frequent detention by Taliban intelligence on arrival or soon after
5. Incommunicado detention in Afghanistan, often with reports of torture, and no access to lawyers or a transparent court process

Women and girls bear particular risks:

• Many are shut out of education, jobs, and public life.
• Women who took part in protests or civic work face heightened danger after forced return.
• Families often choose between silence for safety or speaking out and risking detention.

Mohammadi’s relatives and supporters describe exactly this: a young activist caught in a closed system where requests for due process go unanswered.

Socioeconomic strain

The scale of returns has pushed Afghanistan’s fragile economy to a breaking point:

• More than 1.9 million people forced back in 2025.
• Aid groups warn of rising food insecurity, mounting debt, and crowded shelters.
• Jobs are scarce; local services (schools, clinics) are strained.
• Deported children, some separated from parents during removal, require specialized care most districts cannot provide.

Practical effects in daily life:

• Families sell belongings for bus fare and food.
• People with public records hide, moving between relatives’ homes.
• Phones go unanswered to avoid detection.
• Parents pull children from school for fear of drawing attention.

The arrest of Mohammadi has been experienced locally as a warning: activism prior to leaving Afghanistan can follow you home.

Official positions and human rights critiques

Taliban officials assert there is an amnesty and that returnees face no harm. Iranian authorities defend removals on security and demographic grounds and claim they act within national law.

Human rights organizations counter:

• Pushing out large numbers without proper screening violates core protections.
• Many deportees will face real harm on return — especially activists, women affected by gender rules, and people linked to the former Afghan government.
• Arbitrary detention and torture risk remains high for these groups.

Civil society reports, UN documentation, and family testimony describe night arrests, long interrogations, and refusal to share basic information about detainees’ locations — particularly in provinces such as Parwan.

Calls for action and practical demands

UN experts and global rights groups repeatedly call to:

• Halt forced returns
• Free detainees held for peaceful civic work
• Keep borders open to people at risk
• Provide safe channels for protection

Families and advocates on the ground request immediate, practical steps:

• An end to forced removals
• Open visits to detention sites
• Lawyers for detainees
• Clear information about detainees’ locations (including where Mohammadi is held)

International legal actions, including ICC warrants, signal mounting pressure, but families report practical results feel distant. They want measures that help today.

Options for people seeking protection abroad

For Afghans outside the country considering asylum, official information on asylum in one major destination is available from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at USCIS Asylum.

Rights advocates note:

• Resettlement spots are limited worldwide.
• Many Afghans remain at risk in transit countries.
• This scarcity makes the debate over forced returns and safe treatment of returnees inside Afghanistan urgent.

Reporting and local tracking

Local journalists, including KabulNow and Amu TV, continue to track cases of detained activists and returnees across provinces. Their reporting, alongside documentation by UN bodies and rights organizations, has helped clarify what happens after expulsions from Iran.

In Parwan, that picture includes the name Mohammadi — a young activist whose case tests whether due process and basic rights can survive under mounting pressure and fear.

Human toll and community response

Families in Parwan hold on to small forms of hope: a phone call that goes through, a rumor of transfer, or a guard who hints a detainee is alive. But as days turn into weeks, the cost of silence grows.

Without regular access to lawyers, open court hearings, or independent oversight, cases like Mohammadi’s risk becoming invisible. Civil society groups continue pressing at home and abroad for his safe release and for an end to the practices that led to his detention.

Mohammadi’s name now moves through community networks, meeting halls, and social media posts calling for his freedom. His case captures a wider story: forced return, closed doors, and fear of speaking out.

For many in Parwan and beyond, the demand is simple — free the detainees, stop the torture, and let families know where their loved ones are.