Ramin Mazhar, a journalist with Afghanistan International, has been named Afghanistan’s Journalist of the Year at a ceremony held on Monday in Brussels. The award recognises his investigative reporting on sexual assault and abuse within Taliban detention centres.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center announced the five recipients of this year’s award, including four journalists currently working inside Afghanistan: Nasrin Saeedi, Azizullah Wahdat, Mohammad Yousuf Mangal, and Ehsanullah Karimi.
Mazhar’s report was selected by the award jury as one of the top five journalistic works of 2025. His investigation, based on interviews with several men and women formerly detained by the Taliban, exposes the use of sexual violence and abuse as a tool to extract confessions. The report further revealed that detention facilities were reportedly fitted with CCTV cameras, and that Taliban members allegedly recorded instances of assault and abuse on their mobile phones.
Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, responded to the report, stating he was aware of the allegations and that investigations were underway.
Mazhar, who is also an acclaimed poet, graduated with a degree in Persian language and literature from Kabul University. He has been part of Afghanistan International since its establishment in 2021 and currently works with the network’s investigative reporting unit.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center organises this programme annually, with this year marking the twelfth edition of the awards.
