Two Afghan reporters were left seriously wounded and scarred after they were apprehended by Taliban forces for covering a women’s rights rally in Kabul.

On Thursday, photographers Nematullah Naqdi and Taqi Daryabi displayed their horrible injuries, which included severe welts and bruises on their backs and legs. After being imprisoned for hours by Taliban militants, the pair claimed they were beaten with batons, electrical cables, and whips.

“One of the Taliban put his foot on my head, crushed my face against the concrete. They kicked me in the head… I thought they were going to kill me,” Naqdi said.

The two journalists, who work for the Afghan news site Etilaat Roz, were covering a rally outside a Kabul police station on Wednesday that demanded an end to Taliban abuses against women and girls.

When Naqdi began photographing the demonstration, he said a Taliban member tried to take his camera.  He added that the Taliban were apprehending anybody recording or photographing the rally.

The journalists claim that they were brought to a local police station and beaten. According to Naqdi and Daryabi, they were released after many hours.

Despite the Taliban’s claims that the new regime will protect press freedoms, dozens of Afghan journalists have been beaten or harassed in recent weeks.