The National Directorate of Security (NDS) on Wednesday handed over two civil society activists, Musa Mahmoudi and Ehsanullah Hamidi, to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).

The two men, who reported widespread allegations of sex abuse of boys in Logar province earlier in November, were detained by the NDS last week but released today after condemnation by Amnesty International, AIHRC, the UN as well as the US, UK, German, and Dutch embassies.

The NDS originally declined to confirm or deny reports that they held the activists, but on Tuesday the agency stated that they had taken the activists into custody to “protect” them from death threats, and the agency released a video of Musa Mahmoudi saying that his research on sex abuse (of students in Logar) was “incomplete” and “incorrect” and it was “exaggerated” by the media and he "apologizes to the people."

In this episode of the program, host Yasir Ibrar discusses the topic with the following panelists:

• Lal Gul Lal, the head of Human Rights Organization

• Aziz Rafe, Executive Director of Afghan Civil Society Forum

• Latif Mahmoud, deputy spokesman for Presidential Palace

• Zabihullah Farhang, a spokesman for AIHRC