many defenders had to relocate within Afghanistan and, in some cases, even temporarily leave the country with their families for safety concerns. Kobra, a woman human rights defender who spoke with Amnesty International, said that she lived in an area in Kabul where there were many Taliban sympathizers. She said that in the weeks before the city fell, shopkeepers and even police officers asked her about her occupation. “I was answering “I am a teacher”- they laughed and said no, I saw you in TV channels. I was wondering why I was asked the same question by different people of the area”.92 She fled the country on 19 August. After she left her home, the Taliban came looking for her and asking her neighbours about her whereabouts. Kobra shared that she was a vocal human rights defender in Afghanistan, often travelling to the provinces and appearing on television, speaking for women’s rights. She said that she covered her face when passing Taliban checkpoints to the airport to escape attention. Despite having left the country, Kobra said she still fears for her family left behind, since the Taliban were enquiring about her in her neighbourhood. She said, “women’s rights activists who raise their voices, people who were working with foreigners, journalists, and Afghan government army” are at high risk of reprisals.93 These fears are corroborated by the number of incidents that are documented in this report. Kobra said: “As an Afghan woman, I worked in difficult situations with grassroots women in different provinces of Afghanistan, to create awareness and educate them about their rights according to Islamic perspective, and create awareness for them to stand on their own and educate their children to live in peace and rebuild Afghanistan. Today, for what sin did we have to leave our homeland, our loved ones, and our life and for which sin we suffered such hardship at the gates to enter the Kabul airport.”94 Mahmud, a male human rights defender, also described to Amnesty International, how even before the Taliban had taken over the country, he and his colleagues had faced death threats and had to relocate temporarily.95 He recounted that a female colleague who was a project manager had in the past received calls from the Taliban informing her that their human rights work was not aligned with Islamic values. The day the Taliban entered Kabul, he had received a call asking him to hand over his organizations’ vehicles, equipment, and money- he says the Taliban fighter who spoke to him, knew his name, and said he had no choice but to cooperate with the Taliban. He says “A few days later another person contacted me from [name of province withheld] and asked for my home address and came to the area close to our house. [He] called me, [but] I did not [go]”.96 After Mahmud managed to leave the country, the Taliban beat one of his staff members badly. Images shared with Amnesty International shows injuries suffered as a result of the beating.97 Amnesty International and an independent forensic pathologist analysed images of these injuries. The images show classical assaultive 'whip marks' to the back. An additional image shows yellowing bruising to the back of the victim's left arm, likely reflecting deep bruising of the underlying tissues from injury which occurred several days prior to the capture of the images. “They are searching for me. They found another colleague who was beaten by them. Other than that, all my staff members are under ground. I hope with the assistance of the international organizations, we will be able to take my team members and my family [out of Afghanistan]”.98 Nazir, another human rights defender who spoke with Amnesty International, said that he faced the risk of reprisals from the Taliban because of his work in human rights, his previous work as a 92 Kobra. Interview response received via email. 10 September 2021. Amnesty International. 93 Kobra. Interview response received via email. 10 September 2021. Amnesty International. 94 Kobra. Interview response received via email. 10 September 2021. Amnesty International. 95 Mahmud. Interview response received via email. 10 September 2021. Amnesty International. 96 Mahmud. Interview response received via email. 10 September 2021. Amnesty International. 97 Images received from Mahmud. Interview response sent via email. 10 September 2021. Amnesty International. 98 Mahmud. Interview response sent via email. 10 September 2021. Amnesty International. THE FATE OF THOUSANDS HANGING IN THE BALANCE: AFGHANISTAN’S FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE TALIBAN Amnesty International 13