Press freedom group says Taliban court has freed a French-Afghan journalist held for 284 days

PARIS (AP) — Reporters Without Borders says a Taliban court in Afghanistan has released a French-Afghan journalist held for 284 days and cleared him of espionage and other charges. The press freedom group said it is now working to quickly reunite Mortaza Behboudi with his wife, Alexandra, in Paris. The group’s secretary general called the journalist’s release “the end of a painful ordeal.” Behboudi was arrested on Jan. 7, two days after he arrived in Afghanistan as part of a reporting assignment. Behboudi was awarded the Bayeux Prize for War Correspondents last year for a series of reports about life in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime.