Taliban intelligence forces have detained Mojdeh Uzbek, an Uzbek-language poet, writer and teacher, along with her husband in northern Takhar province, according to local sources.

Sources told that Uzbek was detained on allegations of writing poetry and maintaining contact with people outside Afghanistan. Her husband was reportedly released after about a week in detention, while Uzbek’s whereabouts and condition remain unclear.

According to the sources, Uzbek’s husband is a former member of Afghanistan’s security forces. The couple live in the Hazarbagh area of Khwaja Ghar district and have five children .

Other reports have provided additional details about the case. Afghanistan International reported that Uzbek was accused of writing poems critical of Taliban policies and of having contact with Rahila Dostum, a former senator and daughter of former military and political figure Abdul Rashid Dostum. Local Taliban authorities in Takhar have not publicly commented on the allegations or her detention.

Uzbek’s detention has drawn criticism from Rahila Dostum, who described the arrest of the poet and teacher as concerning and unjustifiable. She called for Uzbek’s immediate release, saying that poetry and thought should not be treated as crimes and that a woman poet and teacher should not be in prison.

Rukhshana Media also reported that Uzbek and her husband were detained by Taliban intelligence forces in Hazarbagh about two weeks before . The outlet identified Uzbek as a teacher at Gowharshad Begum School in the area.

The detention is the latest reported case involving a writer, cultural figure or journalist under Taliban rule. Rights advocates and media organizations have repeatedly raised concerns over restrictions on freedom of expression and the treatment of people accused of expressing views critical of the Taliban.

Uzbek’s continued detention has also left her family without information about her fate.