Sultan Munadi
Encyclopedia
Sultan Mohammad Munadi was an Afghan
journalist
, reporter, production manager and translator. He worked for the International Red Crescent, The New York Times
and Afghan state radio at various times during his career in journalism. Munadi was killed on September 9, 2009, in a British Special Boat Service
special forces
raid meant to rescue Stephen Farrell and Munadi, who were both captured by Taliban forces near Kunduz four days earlier.
, in Panjshir province
, Afghanistan
, on November 22, 1976. Munadi, an ethnic Tajik, grew up around the family's farm in the village of Astana in the Panjshir Valley
. His father fought against Soviet
forces during the Soviet war in Afghanistan
in the 1980s. The family's home in Astana, which was used as a command post by the mujahedeen, was bombed by Soviet troops. Munadi and his brothers rebuilt the family home by hand following the bombing.
Munadi attended Amir Sharali Khan Primary School. He graduated from Nadiria High School in 1991.
program at Kabul University
in 1995. He also took a course in English
while studying journalism at the university. In 1996, the Taliban seized control of the city of Kabul, forcing Munadi to temporarily abandon his undergraduate studies. He eventually received his bachelor's degree
in journalism from Kabul University.
Munadi worked as a press officer and liaison
for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent's local office in Gulbahar
, Parwan Province, during the period of Taliban control from 1997 until 2001. He coordinated communications between the office in northern Afghanistan and the ICRC
main headquarters
in Kabul.
Munadi joined the Afghan staff of the New York Times in 2002, following the ouster of the Taliban and establishment of an interim government. Munadi worked as a local correspondent
in the Kabul office for the New York Times and contributed reports to the headquarters in New York City
. He also translated Dari
, Pashto and English
documents and reports for the newspaper. Munadi remained with the New York Times until 2006.
In 2006, Munadi joined the staff of Good Morning Afghanistan (GMA), which is produced by AwaNama Productions. He was employed as a production manager for the radio show, and performed the tasks of editor
, director and radio producer
. He was later promoted to the editor of the show's website and radio broadcasts, and assigned stories to journalists.
Munadi moved to Germany
in early 2009, where he enrolled in a graduate program at University of Erfurt School of Public Policy
towards a master's degree
in public policy
, good governance
and journalism. He returned to Afghanistan from Germany twice during 2009.
On September 5, 2009, Munadi and New York Times journalist Stephen Farrell, a British
–Irish
colleague, were kidnapped by Taliban in northern Afghanistan near Kunduz
. Farrell and Munadi were in the area interviewing local residents about a recent NATO airstrike on two fuel tankers (that had been kidnapped by Taliban militants) which had allegedly killed Afghan civilians.
Munadi and Farrell were held by Taliban militants for four days. The Taliban treated Farrell rather well, but were increasingly threatening and abusive to Munadi while he was in captivity. The Taliban reminded Munadi of a 2007 kidnapping in which an Italian reporter, Daniele Mastrogiacomo
, was freed while his Afghan translator was killed and beheaded. Munadi had called his parents at 10:30 pm on September 8 to report that he and Farrell were safe. His parents immediately left their home in Kabul to travel to Kunduz to await a possible release.
British Military Intelligence discovered the house in which Munadi and Farrell were being held. On September 9, 2009, British Special Boat Service
special forces
raided the home to rescue the captives. Farrell was rescued, but Munadi was shot and killed in the firefight between the Taliban and British forces.
Relatives and friends were unsure if Munadi had been killed by the Taliban or by friendly fire, "He was just left there and the body was in a terrible state - shot in the front and in the back, so it is impossible to know if he was killed by the soldiers or by the Taliban." Munadi's body was left at the scene and his parents reportedly had to collect his body themselves. Neither the New York Times nor the Munadi or Farrell families knew about the planned rescue attempt in advance. Munadi's death and the failure to retrieve his body resulted in widespread anger among Afghan journalists, with many calling for a full investigation into his death. Afghan journalists claimed that Munadi's death revealed a double standard by international forces over the treatment of Western reporters versus local Afghan journalists.
Sultan Munadi was buried in Kabul near his family's home.
Munadi (The charismatic personality):
"He was the noblist man I had ever seen" wrote a friend who participated with him in a three-week journalism program in Sweden. Munadi was a very social person and popular with friends, family and in his province. He had an initial dream of establishing a charity or relief foundation for Afghan street children.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, reporter, production manager and translator. He worked for the International Red Crescent, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and Afghan state radio at various times during his career in journalism. Munadi was killed on September 9, 2009, in a British Special Boat Service
Special Boat Service
The Special Boat Service is the special forces unit of the British Royal Navy. Together with the Special Air Service, Special Reconnaissance Regiment and the Special Forces Support Group they form the United Kingdom Special Forces and come under joint control of the same Director Special...
special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
raid meant to rescue Stephen Farrell and Munadi, who were both captured by Taliban forces near Kunduz four days earlier.
Early life
Munadi was born in Astana, Bazarak DistrictBazarak District
Bazarak District is a district of Panjshir Province, Afghanistan....
, in Panjshir province
Panjshir Province
Panjshir is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Containing the Panjshir Valley, in April 2004 it was created from parts of Parwan Province, which now lies along its southwestern border. Panjshir's population is about 139,000 and covers an area of 3,610 square kilometers...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, on November 22, 1976. Munadi, an ethnic Tajik, grew up around the family's farm in the village of Astana in the Panjshir Valley
Panjshir Valley
The Panjshir Province is a valley in north-central Afghanistan, 150 km north of Kabul, near the Hindu Kush mountain range. Located in the Panjshir Province it is divided by the Panjshir River...
. His father fought against Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
forces during the Soviet war in Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
in the 1980s. The family's home in Astana, which was used as a command post by the mujahedeen, was bombed by Soviet troops. Munadi and his brothers rebuilt the family home by hand following the bombing.
Munadi attended Amir Sharali Khan Primary School. He graduated from Nadiria High School in 1991.
Career
Munadi was accepted into the journalismJournalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
program at Kabul University
Kabul University
Kabul University is located in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. It was founded in 1931 but officially opened for classes in 1932. Kabul University is currently attended by approximately 7,000 students, of which 1,700 are women. As of 2008, Hamidullah Amin is the chancellor of the university...
in 1995. He also took a course in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
while studying journalism at the university. In 1996, the Taliban seized control of the city of Kabul, forcing Munadi to temporarily abandon his undergraduate studies. He eventually received his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in journalism from Kabul University.
Munadi worked as a press officer and liaison
Liaison
Liaison in general means:# Communication between two or more groups.# Co-operation, working together.but may refer to:* Affair, an unfaithful or adulterous sexual relationship* Air Alliance, a Canadian airline whose call sign was "Liaison'...
for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent's local office in Gulbahar
Gulbahar
Gulbahar or Gul Bahar is one of the neighborhoods of Liaquatabad Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.Gulbahar Colony, which was known as Golimar, is a suburb of Karachi. This area is along the Lyari River and was mainly farmland before the settlement of Muslim refugees after the independence of...
, Parwan Province, during the period of Taliban control from 1997 until 2001. He coordinated communications between the office in northern Afghanistan and the ICRC
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
main headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
in Kabul.
Munadi joined the Afghan staff of the New York Times in 2002, following the ouster of the Taliban and establishment of an interim government. Munadi worked as a local correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
in the Kabul office for the New York Times and contributed reports to the headquarters in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He also translated Dari
Dari (Eastern Persian)
Dari or Fārsī-ye Darī in historical terms refers to the Persian court language of the Sassanids. In contemporary usage, the term refers to the dialects of modern Persian language spoken in Afghanistan, and hence known as Afghan Persian in some Western sources. It is the term officially recognized...
, Pashto and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
documents and reports for the newspaper. Munadi remained with the New York Times until 2006.
In 2006, Munadi joined the staff of Good Morning Afghanistan (GMA), which is produced by AwaNama Productions. He was employed as a production manager for the radio show, and performed the tasks of editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, director and radio producer
Radio producer
A radio producer oversees the making of a radio show. There are two main types of producer. An audio or creative producer and a content producer. Audio producers create sounds and audio specifically, content producers oversee and orchestrate a radio show or feature...
. He was later promoted to the editor of the show's website and radio broadcasts, and assigned stories to journalists.
Munadi moved to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in early 2009, where he enrolled in a graduate program at University of Erfurt School of Public Policy
University of Erfurt
The University of Erfurt is a public university located in Erfurt, Germany. Originally founded in 1379, the university was closed in 1816 for the next 177 years...
towards a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in public policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
, good governance
Good governance
Good governance is an indeterminate term used in development literature to describe how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources in order to guarantee the realization of human rights. Governance describes "the process of decision-making and the process by which...
and journalism. He returned to Afghanistan from Germany twice during 2009.
Kidnapping and death
Munadi returned to Afghanistan from Germany during his summer break to visit his wife and two children. The New York Times contacted Munadi while he was in Afghanistan to ask him to assist its foreign correspondents in the country.On September 5, 2009, Munadi and New York Times journalist Stephen Farrell, a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
–Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
colleague, were kidnapped by Taliban in northern Afghanistan near Kunduz
Kunduz
Kunduz also known as Kundûz, Qonduz, Qondûz, Konduz, Kondûz, Kondoz, or Qhunduz is a city in northern Afghanistan, the capital of Kunduz Province. It is linked by highways with Mazari Sharif to the west, Kabul to the south and Tajikistan's border to the north...
. Farrell and Munadi were in the area interviewing local residents about a recent NATO airstrike on two fuel tankers (that had been kidnapped by Taliban militants) which had allegedly killed Afghan civilians.
Munadi and Farrell were held by Taliban militants for four days. The Taliban treated Farrell rather well, but were increasingly threatening and abusive to Munadi while he was in captivity. The Taliban reminded Munadi of a 2007 kidnapping in which an Italian reporter, Daniele Mastrogiacomo
Daniele Mastrogiacomo
Daniele Mastrogiacomo is an Italian-Swiss journalist and a war correspondent for la Repubblica newspaper....
, was freed while his Afghan translator was killed and beheaded. Munadi had called his parents at 10:30 pm on September 8 to report that he and Farrell were safe. His parents immediately left their home in Kabul to travel to Kunduz to await a possible release.
British Military Intelligence discovered the house in which Munadi and Farrell were being held. On September 9, 2009, British Special Boat Service
Special Boat Service
The Special Boat Service is the special forces unit of the British Royal Navy. Together with the Special Air Service, Special Reconnaissance Regiment and the Special Forces Support Group they form the United Kingdom Special Forces and come under joint control of the same Director Special...
special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
raided the home to rescue the captives. Farrell was rescued, but Munadi was shot and killed in the firefight between the Taliban and British forces.
Relatives and friends were unsure if Munadi had been killed by the Taliban or by friendly fire, "He was just left there and the body was in a terrible state - shot in the front and in the back, so it is impossible to know if he was killed by the soldiers or by the Taliban." Munadi's body was left at the scene and his parents reportedly had to collect his body themselves. Neither the New York Times nor the Munadi or Farrell families knew about the planned rescue attempt in advance. Munadi's death and the failure to retrieve his body resulted in widespread anger among Afghan journalists, with many calling for a full investigation into his death. Afghan journalists claimed that Munadi's death revealed a double standard by international forces over the treatment of Western reporters versus local Afghan journalists.
Sultan Munadi was buried in Kabul near his family's home.
Munadi (The charismatic personality):
"He was the noblist man I had ever seen" wrote a friend who participated with him in a three-week journalism program in Sweden. Munadi was a very social person and popular with friends, family and in his province. He had an initial dream of establishing a charity or relief foundation for Afghan street children.