Taliban Charges French Journalist With Spying

Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban on Wednesday charged a French reporter and his two Pakistani colleagues with spying, a charge immediately dismissed by France as absurd.

Michel Peyrard, 44, a reporter for the French weekly Paris Match, was arrested in Afghanistan on Tuesday while disguised in Muslim women’s clothing.

“They have been formally charged with spying,” Taliban intelligence chief Mullah Taj Meer was quoted as saying by the Afghan Islamic Press.

“We had warned all journalists that whosoever entered Afghanistan illegally would be treated as U.S. soldiers.”

A French Foreign Ministry official said they were trying to contact Taliban authorities through neighboring Pakistan.

“It is clear that Michel Peyrard is a well-known journalist. He was working as a reporter,” a spokesman said in Paris. “Accusations that he is a spy are absurd.”

Mullah Meer said spying equipment had been found on the three and they would be tried in a special court.

Peyrard reportedly was carrying a satellite telephone and tape recorder when he was detained. The French reporter was well, Meer said. “He is being given food of his choice.”