Thomas Ruttig

Treatment of men showing signs of non-conformity to Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (PVPV) regulations

Asylos, December 2025 While it is women and girls who are suffering most from the Taleban’s systematic policies of disenfranchisement, also other parts of the population are facing suppression. Here, a collection of sources on how Afghan men who do not follow the strict Taleban Vice and Virtue law are treated, by the UK-based NGO. […]

1 Jul 2026

Spirale der Vergeltung zwischen Afghanistan und Pakistan

nd, 29 June 2026 For the Berlin-based daily, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig summarises the results of Pakistan most recent airstrikes on three Afghan provinces, in an alleged attempt to attack TTP hideouts but mainly hitting civilians, as confirmed by the UN. He also looks at the background of the Pakistani-Afghan conflict: the colonial and – by […]

29 Jun 2026

‘We were beaten, robbed, and left in a snowstorm’: Afghan migrants allege mistreatment at the Turkish border

BBC Turkish service, 27 June 2026 Afghan migrants accused Turkish border forces of beating, robbing and abandoning them in freezing weather near the Iranian border, leaving 11 people with amputations and at least 20 others dead, according to a BBC Afghan Forensic investigation published by BBC’s Turkish service. The investigation is based on interviews with […]

27 Jun 2026

Untergrundschulen und Online-Kurse: Trotz Taliban-Verboten halten Aktivist*innen in Afghanistan Nischen offen, in denen Frauen und Mädchen weiter Zugang zu Bildung haben

Thomas Ruttig •

Südlink, June 2026: Article by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig for the German NGO INKOTA Network’s north-south magazine (in German), looking at the last niches kept open by activists for women and girls to still be able to access education in Taleban-ruled Afghanistan: underground schools and online courses. While the former are illegal, although often Taleban officials […]

22 Jun 2026

The Geometry of Fear and the Lie that There Is No Alternative to the Taliban

Hasht-e Sobh, 17 June 2026 A very interesting analysis (which, however, does not tell us where those alternatives to the Taleban are), which uses AAN analyses of ISKP in the part which says that the group’s atrocities “must not be used to bury the truth and whitewash the Taliban.” AAN sources used: Source 1: Afghanistan […]

17 Jun 2026

Pakistan’s Drone Strikes Are Hitting Afghan Civilians

New Lines Magazine, 16 June 2026 On-the-ground reportage by Afghan journalist Fazelminallah Qazizai on the civilian victims of Pakistan’s – so far – penultimate air strikes on Afghanistan in mid-June 2026. His conclusion: … what stands out most clearly on the ground is this: So far, nearly all of Pakistan’s strikes inside Afghanistan have targeted civilian […]

16 Jun 2026

Hell on earth for Afghan women: From the ban on education to the legal rape of girls

El País, 2 June 2026 This report in a leading Spanish daily looks at the situation of Afghan women in the context of the recent Taliban “Code on Judicial Separation of Spouses.” The report quotes AAN’s Rachel Reid: One of the Taliban’s first decisions upon returning to power was to suspend the Constitution, which, among […]

2 Jun 2026

June 2026 Monthly Forecast Afghanistan

Security Council Report, 1 June 2026 This report focusses on two Afghanistan-related activities of the UN Security Council: first, the renewal of the UNAMA mandate which is under pressure by the US which reportedly intends to ‘streamline’ the mission and has already recently been extended for a limited period only, and second, the UN resolution […]

1 Jun 2026

مصاحبه با کارشناس افغانستان در آلمان: روند اخراج افغان ها به کجا می انجامد؟  [Where is the process of deportation of Afghans leading?]

Info Migrants, 29 May 2026 Interview by the migration news platform with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig about Germany’s controversial deportations to Afghanistan, based on an agreement with the Taleban regime (in Dari/Persian).

29 May 2026

Taliban ante portas in Brüssel: Afghanisches Regime wird hoffähig

Tageszeitung, 27 May 2026 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig summarises how the EU is edging toward a deportation deal with the Taleban regime, both emulating and being pushed by the German government who concluded one bilaterally earlier this year, without publishing its contents. The latest EU developments: first, Brussel admitted that it is planning to invite a […]

27 May 2026

Here Is What Justice Looked Like [in Afghanistan] — and What Destroyed It

Just Security, 27 May 2026 Mohammad Farid Hamidi, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’s Attorney General, takes a passionate look at what the justice system looked like then, particularly for women, and on how the Taleban dismantled it in the name of sharia. He makes a plea for support of his former colleagues, more than 3,800 […]

27 May 2026

Das Bamf und seine Afghanistan-Politik: Klaffende Realitätslücke

Tageszeitung, 22 May 2026 In an op-ed opinion piece for the Berlin-based daily, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig looks at the contradictions between, on one hand, the continously deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and Germany’s dropping admission rates for Afghan refugees, particularly for young men. He calls it a ‘realities gap’ (in German). His […]

22 May 2026