Statement from Nabil Miskinyar on His Abduction and Imprisonment
Still from Emrooz TV interview of Fahim Kohdamani with Nabil Miskinyar. (Photo: Emrooz TV)
Nabil Miskinyar is the founder and president of Zaland.net and Ariana Afghanistan Television, a leading source of news on Afghanistan. The following is his statement:
On Sunday, September 11, 2011, I attended a dinner with Dr. Ramazan Bashardost - a former planning minister and current member of the National Assembly of Afghanistan – who requested I meet with representatives from Emrooz Television the next day to discuss a possible business partnership.
I accepted his request and on September 12th, was picked up for lunch by four men from Emrooz. Among the group was Najibullah Kabuli, owner of Emrooz Television. Shortly after, the four men accused me of being an American CIA agent and taking money to spread western propaganda on Ariana Afghanistan Television.
I was then blindfolded and taken to a small television studio, where Kabuli took out an AK 47 and put it to my head. I was told I would be interviewed by one of his reporters, Fahim Kohdamani.
With two guns pointed at me at all times, I was forced to apologize for making comments critical of Burhanuddin Rabbani, Ustad Attah Mohammad, Mohammad Qasim Fahim, Ahmad Shah Massud, Zia Massud, Abdullah Abdullah, Yunus Qunani and the Northern Alliance. They asked me to say that I was an agent of the United States, a supporter of Pakistan and anti-Iran – which I refused to do.
Kohdamani told me that I would die and my entire family would be killed if I did not respond as they demanded. Under intense pressure and in fear of my life, I told them what they wanted me to say while they videotaped an “interview.”
After about seven hours, they blindfolded me again and let me out on a street in the middle of Kabul. Fortunately, I was able to find my way back to my family and leave the country.
I want to be clear that everything in the “interview” with Emrooz Television was said with a gun to my head. I had no choice to say what was asked of me and request that viewers understand that the statements and viewpoints expressed in the video are not mine.
I am a proud Afghan-American and support a free Afghanistan.
Mr. Miskinyar has 40 years experience in radio and television as an independent and unbiased voice on local and international news. He founded Zaland.net & Ariana Afghanistan Television (www.aa-tv.com) in 1989 and expanded it in 2006 to become the first 24 hour Afghan broadcast network in North America. He will not be available for interviews at this time.