Taliban Bars UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur from Afghanistan

FILE PHOTO: Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, gestures during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo

The Taliban have barred United Nations-appointed special rapporteur Richard Bennett from entering Afghanistan, the administration's spokesperson told local broadcaster Tolo, accusing the human rights watchdog of "spreading propaganda."
Bennett was appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2022 to monitor Afghanistan's human rights situation after the Taliban took over the previous year.
Bennett, who has previously said the Taliban's treatment of women and girls could amount to a crime against humanity, is based outside Afghanistan but has visited several times to research the situation.
The UN Human Rights Council did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Taliban administration spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has previously said the Taliban respect women's rights in accordance with its interpretation of Islamic law and local customs. He told Tolo that Bennett would not be allowed to come to Afghanistan, a rare public barring of an individual foreign official.
"Mr. Bennett's travel to Afghanistan has been prohibited because he was assigned to spread propaganda in Afghanistan. He is not someone we trust...he used to exaggerate minor issues and propagate them," Mujahid said, according to Tolo. His office did not respond to Reuters request for comment.