WASHINGTON: The Committee to Protect Journalists is urging US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Afghan journalist Shaban Ali Rafat and grant him full access to a hearing on the merits of his asylum claim.

In a statement released on Friday, CPJ warned that deporting Rafat to Afghanistan would expose him to significant risks of persecution and retaliation by the Taliban.

Rafat has been in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in California since Jan 21, 2025, when he attempted to enter the United States to seek asylum, and now faces deportation to Afghanistan, according to his attorney David Tarr.

“Rafat fled Afghanistan because the Taliban made it impossible for him to work as a journalist without risking his life. Deporting him now would deliver him directly into the hands of the very persecutors he escaped,” said CPJ Americas regional programme director Jose Zamora.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2026