Family and colleagues of Yama Siawash, the former TOLOnews presenter who was killed in an attack last November, called for a probe into the incident by an impartial international team and criticized the government for providing conflicting information on efforts to find the perpetrators.

Siawash’s father and others submitted petitions signed by activists, journalists and residents of 20 provinces to the United Nations office in Kabul.  

But Siawash’s father, Daud Siawash, said the United Nations Security Council has not given sufficient attention to the matter.

Daud Siawash said the government does not have enough of a political incentive to make public the findings of the attack on the Central Bank vehicle in which Yama Siawash and two others were traveling when they were killed. 

“Which government in the world treats a martyr the way Siawash was treated? Isn’t this ignoring a sacrifice? I have neither guns nor an office, car, or facilities; I have God and pen. We have the right to raise our voice,” Daud Siawash said. 

Activists said the government should make public its findings on the attack, including sharing the CCTV footage and the GPS information from the vehicle. 

“I will not allow this blood to be ignored… I will raise my voice until death… This is not a slogan,” Daud Siawash said. 

The complaint to the UNSC was made 40 days ago, according to Siawash’s father, but he said it was not addressed. 

“The UN Security Council should address the call and send an impartial probe team for Yama Siawash’s martyred case so that we trust the results of the probe,” said Sediqullah Tawhidi, head of programs at the Journalists’ Safety Committee. 

“Getting no response to these questions makes us doubt and ask--who is the murderer? This is not enough for us when the government says that the Taliban or Daesh is carrying out most of the killings,” said Ghulam Jailani Zwak, head of Kabul News TV network. 

Yama Siawash, who worked as media adviser of the Central Bank, as well as Hamdullah Anas, the deputy head of the Central Bank office, and Aminullah Rezadee, a driver at the bank, were killed in the explosion that targeted their vehicle in Makrorayan-e-Char area in downtown Kabul on November 7, 2020.