Under Siege Yet Unbroken: Afghan Journalists Face Taliban Repression as Salma Niazi Wins Global Honors for Bravery

Under Siege Yet Unbroken: Afghan Journalists Face Taliban Repression as Salma Niazi Wins Global Honors for Bravery
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Afghanistan’s press freedom crisis has deepened as the Taliban intensify their campaign of intimidation against journalists — even as one Afghan reporter, Salma Niazi, earns international recognition for her courage and resilience in defending free speech under repression.

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Taliban have adopted a new “tactic of terror,” using forced confessions to humiliate and silence journalists. Videos posted on Taliban-linked social media channels show detained reporters, including Mahdi Ansari, Abu Zar Sarempuli, and Shakib Nazari, being coerced into admitting to “anti-Taliban activities.” RSF confirmed that Ansari, a reporter with Afghanistan News Agency, was forcibly disappeared in October 2024 and sentenced to 18 months in prison by Taliban intelligence in January 2025.

“These orchestrated confessions are designed to criminalize independent journalism,” said Célia Mercier, RSF’s South Asia desk chief. The watchdog reported that at least 165 journalists have been arrested since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. Afghanistan now ranks 175th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2025 World Press Freedom Index.

Amid this climate of fear, Salma Niazi, founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Afghan Times, has become a symbol of resistance. She was honored this week with the One Young World Journalist of the Year 2025 and the Lyra McKee Award for Bravery at a ceremony in Munich, recognizing her “fearless reporting under one of the world’s most repressive regimes.”

Through her initiatives — including The Open Mic Podcast and investigative features on women’s rights, child labor, and food insecurity — Niazi continues to empower silenced Afghan voices. “We fight not with weapons, but with courage, with words, and with hope,” she said in her acceptance speech.

While RSF calls on the international community to pressure the Taliban to end arbitrary detentions, Niazi’s recognition serves as a reminder that Afghan journalism, though under siege, remains unbroken.