As a former official in Afghanistan’s democratically elected government, Mustafa* knew that if the Nato-backed administration collapsed he would have to flee. But like many others, he was unable to do so, and in July last year fell into Taliban hands. They threw him inside a small cage with dogs inside.
“They captured me, suffocated me by placing a plastic bag on my face and tied my limbs together,” he tells The Independent in a phone call from Afghanistan. The Taliban accused him of continuing to collaborate with the hardline Islamist government’s enemies even after the fall of Kabul in August 2021 – in their minds, being a rebel.
