Afghanistan's ruling Taliban are investigating whether a British reporter for the Sunday Expresswho was arrested near the eastern city of Jalalabad may be a spy, the Afghan Islamic Press said today.
|
|
Ms Yvonne Ridley
|
Ms Yvonne Ridley, 41, was dressed in an Afghan burqa when she was detained with her two guides near Jalalabad, about 15 km from the Pakistan border, AIP said.
She was not carrying a passport and had entered the country illegally, an official in Jalalabad was quoted as saying.
The Taliban sent a special investigating team from Kabul to join the interrogation to determine whether Ms Ridley was a reporter or a spy, AIP said.
"What we want to find out is whether this woman is really a journalist or working for some intelligence agency," a Taliban official said.
"She is well. She wants to eat four or five times a day, she wants cigarettes and fresh clothes and we are providing everything to her," the Taliban official said.
The Taliban has told all foreigners to leave the country and has said it will issue no visas to journalists.