Etilaatroz (Persian/Dari/Hazaragi اطلاعات روز, English "Daily Information) is an Afghanistani newspaper.[1] In 2021, due to the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, the outlet moved its office to a suburb of Washington D.C.[2] Etilaatroz is known for its in-depth investigative stories exposing high-level corruption, nepotism, systematic ethnic favoritism, and discrimination against minority ethnic groups in Afghanistan's government.[3]

Etilaatroz
The front page of vol.1 & no.2048
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Founder(s)Zaki Daryabi
PublisherEtilaatroz
Editor-in-chiefSakhidad Hatif
Founded2012
LanguagePersian, English
HeadquartersSilver Spring, Maryland
Sister newspaperskabulnow.com
Websiteetilaatroz.com

History

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The Etilaatroz newspaper was founded in 2012 by Zaki Daryabi, an Afghan journalist.[4] The first edition of the outlet was printed in January 2012, but was soon shut down due to financial problems.[5] In December 2012, after securing a contract with a publishing company, Daryabi managed to bring together a team of journalists to produce content. The Etilaatroz headquarter was based in western Kabul, an area predominantly inhabited by the Hazara people. After publishing a series of stories exposing high-level corruption within the Afghanistan government, Etilaatroz was known as a newspaper that was "rattling Afghanistan's powerful".[6][7]

In the first week of September 2021, two Etilaatroz employees were detained by the Taliban while covering a women's protest in Kabul.[8] Journalist Taqi Daryabi and photographer Neamat Naghdi were detained for 48 hours and were severely beaten.[9][10] Both journalists appeared in front of the cameras with bruises and blood clots on their faces, back, waists, and legs.[11][12][13] The pair said that they were beaten with "batons, electrical cables and whips for several hours" until they passed out.[14][15] Etilaatroz was one of multiple media outlets that struggled to survive under the Taliban, but ultimately it was forced to move out of the country.[16]

Awards

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In 2020, Etilaatroz was awarded the Anti-Corruption Award by Transparency International.[17]

In 2020, Alexa ranked Etilaatroz one of the top three news websites in Afghanistan and one of the most visited Persian news outlet in the country.[18]

References

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  1. ^ "Afghan Journalist Wins Intl Anti-Corruption Award". TOLOnews. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  2. ^ Valerie, Plesch (March 16, 2023). "Prominent Afghan news organization reports on life under Taliban rule from Maryland".
  3. ^ "Leaked memo fuels accusations of ethnic bias in Afghan government". Reuters. 2017-09-21. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  4. ^ "Botakoz Kopbayeva and Zaki Daryabi/Etilaat Roz… - Transparency.org". 2021-01-28. Archived from the original on 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2023-06-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ Mehrdad, Ezzatullah. "Afghanistan's Investigative Journalists". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  6. ^ Rasmussen, Sune Engel (2017-10-03). "Rattling Afghanistan's powerful: Etilaat Roz newspaper exposes corruption". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  7. ^ Mashal, Mujib (2017-10-02). "Afghan Newspaper Hunts Corruption, but First It Has to Pay the Rent". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  8. ^ Klapper, Rebecca (2021-09-10). "2 Journalists Say Taliban Beat Them for Covering Women's Protest in Kabul". Newsweek. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  9. ^ Atalayar (2021-09-10). "Taliban brutally assaults two journalists for covering women's protests". Atalayar. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  10. ^ AFP (2021-09-09). "Afghan journalists tell of Taliban beatings after covering protests". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  11. ^ "Afghan journalists beaten by Taliban for covering women's protest". New York Post. 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  12. ^ "Afghanistan: Journalists tell of beatings by Taliban". BBC News. 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  13. ^ "Are the Taliban now showing their true face to journalists? | RSF". rsf.org. 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  14. ^ Lister, Anna Coren, Radina Gigova, Tim (2021-09-12). "'I thought this was the end of my life:' Afghan journalists describe savage beatings by Taliban". CNN. Retrieved 2023-06-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Glinski, Stefanie (2021-09-09). "Afghan journalists tell how the Taliban beat and tortured them". The National. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  16. ^ "An Afghan newspaper is struggling to survive under the Taliban". The Independent. 2021-09-20. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  17. ^ MENAFN. "The Position and Challenges of Independent Media in Afghanistan". menafn.com. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  18. ^ "Alexa reveals new ranking for Afghan media - The Kabul times, Afghanistan Trustable News Agency". 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2023-06-26.