AUTHORITIES have arrested the manager of an Afghan television station for refusing to censor women's bare limbs.

The Government has previously censured television stations and taken others to court, but the arrest of Emrose TV's Fahim Khodamani on Monday was the first by authorities for airing overly salacious content, the Deputy Attorney-General, Fazel Ahmad Faqiyar, said.

Since the Taliban fell in 2001, TV stations have flourished in Afghanistan, pitting press freedom against conservative norms. Many Afghan TV stations cut or blur scenes with women showing more than their face or neck, taking a stance to avoid violating a government law that prohibits media content not "within the framework of Islam".

Mr Khodamani was arrested for refusing repeated requests to pixelate or otherwise obscure images of women dancing in short skirts or outfits with low necklines, Mr Faqiyar said.

Afghanistan's media oversight commission sent letters to the station in recent months reproaching the channel for the amount of bare skin on its programs and for airing pop music videos during the Islamic holiday of Ashoura in January, according to Mr Faqiyar and the station's owner, Najibullah Kabuli.

Mr Kabuli confirmed that Mr Khodamani refused to censor the programming, saying it was station policy to air unaltered programs. He said the arrest was "against freedom of speech and democracy".

Mr Faqiyar said Mr Khodamani will be held for up to 15 days while an inquiry is conducted.

Associated Press