Afghan taekwondo star Marzieh Hamidi told AFP the death threats she has received, forcing her to live under French police protection, show how effective her stinging criticism of the Taliban has been.

The 22-year-old's defiance of Afghanistan's governing Taliban fits well with her coming from "a family of freedom fighters."

Her father fought in the Afghanistan army and then alongside the late mujahideen leader Ahmed Shah Massoud before moving to Iran.

Hamidi's weapon has been her voice, since coming to France in December 2021 after living for a few months under Taliban rule when they seized power again in August that year.

However, her no-holds-barred criticisms of the Taliban had serious repercussions.

Last September she was granted police protection after receiving 5,000 calls, including 500 threatening to either murder or rape her.

French prosecutors opened an investigation in September after her lawyer Ines Davau lodged a legal complaint for cyber-harassment and death threats, as well as threats of rape.

Remarkably, the erudite and passionate Hamidi -- formerly Afghanistan's national champion at -57 kilos and with a........

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