GRAPHIC WARNING.
An Afghan volleyball player has allegedly been beheaded in a public execution by the Taliban with other leading female athletes also under threat.
According to her coach, images of Mahjabin Hakimi's severed neck were posted on social media following the incident.
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Hakimi - who has represented the Kabul Municipality Volleyball Clubas well as the Afghan national team on a number of occasions - was reportedly executed in the capital city of Kabul a few weeks ago, although her family has been forced to keep her death quiet over mounting fears for their own safety.
As a result, conflicting reports have surfaced surrounding her death, but the Payk Investigative Journalism Center have now confirmed that she was in fact "beheaded by the Taliban in Kabul".
In an interview with the Persian Independent, Suraya Afzali (a pseudonym), one of the coaches of the Afghan women's national volleyball team said that the slaughtering probably took place in early October.
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"All the players of the volleyball team and the rest of the women athletes are in a bad situation and in despair and fear," Ms. Afzali said.
"Everyone has been forced to flee and live in unknown place."
Since the Taliban's takeover in Kabul, there have been underlying fears for the safety of women - particularly those with high profiles.
All women's activities in sport have stopped and there are still growing concerns over the wellbeing of the athletes as people desperately try to flee the country.
Topics: Volleyball, Australia
