About the Fixers’ Fund

Ajmal, a 24-year old journalist from Kabul, was taken hostage by the Taliban in Helmand province on March 4, 2007. He was working with the La Repubblica reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo and their driver Sayed Agha. Jon Lee Anderson wrote about the murder for the Frontline Club Magazine and his article inspired the creation of the Fixers’ Fund,

"Agha was beheaded shortly after the group was abducted… On March 19, the Italian was freed in exchange for five senior Taliban prisoners held by the Afghan government…

After Mastrogiacomo’s release, Ajmal remained in Taliban hands. Supposedly, he was being held until the government handed over two more Taliban prisoners. But then, two days before the expiration date they executed him…

There can be no better moment than this one to establish a special compensation fund for the indispensable, underpaid and often unnamed Ajmals and Sayeds who pull us through and help us get our stories around the world, and who, increasingly, are paying the ultimate price for doing so."

Frontline donated £5,000 to the families of Ajmal and Sayed in 2008.

You can make a tax free donation here. Thank you.