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In this Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015 photo, Afghan journalist Hussain Sirat, 33, an editor at Afghanistans biggest daily newspaper, 8AM, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Kabul, Afghanistan. New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch, released a report Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015 titled Stop Reporting or Well Kill Your Family, that says perpetrators of violence against journalists are rarely punished. Eight journalists were killed in Afghanistan in 2014, making it the deadliest year for the media since 2001, when the U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban, rights groups say. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)(The Associated Press)

In this Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015 photo, Afghan journalist Hussain Sirat, 33, an editor at Afghanistans biggest daily newspaper, 8AM, who also works for Deutsche Welle speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Kabul, Afghanistan. When Sirats car disappeared in late December he assumed it was simply theft until a man called to say that he had the vehicle, and a gun with which he planned to kill Sirat. In the weeks since then Sirat, has been attacked in the street and received death threats in text messages that accuse him of being an infidel -- which he assumes is related to his work for the German broadcaster. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)(The Associated Press)

In this Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015 photo, Afghan journalist Hussain Sirat, 33, an editor at Afghanistans biggest daily newspaper, 8AM, edit a copy of the newspaper at his office in Kabul, Afghanistan. President Ashraf Ghani and his political rival-turned-chief executive Abdullah Abdullah pledged during campaigning last year to uphold constitutional protections for a free media. Reporters Without Borders, a nonprofit group, ranked Afghanistan 128 out of 180 countries on its 2014 press freedom index. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)(The Associated Press)

In this Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015 photo, Afghan journalist Hussain Sirat, left, an editor at Afghanistans biggest daily newspaper, 8AM, and Royeen Rahnosh, an editor at Khaama Press, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Kabul, Afghanistan. New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch, released a report Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015 titled Stop Reporting or Well Kill Your Family. Eight journalists were killed in Afghanistan in 2014, making it the deadliest year for the media since 2001, when the U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban, rights groups say. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)(The Associated Press)

In this Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015 photo, Afghan journalist Royeen Rahnosh, 27, an editor at Khaama Press speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in Kabul, Afghanistan. Rahnosh was attacked by a man with a knife as he walked home from his Kabul office last year and believes he was targeted because of reports he wrote about Taliban violence -- which has intensified in the past year as U.S. and NATO troops have ended their combat role. Many reporters feel pressured by the government, insurgents and corrupt warlords to self-censor to avoid trouble or leave journalism entirely. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)(The Associated Press)

KABUL, Afghanistan When Afghan journalist Hussain Sirat's car disappeared in late December, he assumed it was simply theft, until a man called to say that he had the vehicle, and a gun with which he planned to kill him.

In the weeks since then, Sirat, an editor at Afghanistan's biggest daily newspaper 8AM who also works for Deutsche Welle, has been attacked in the street and received death threats in text messages that accuse him of being an "infidel" which he assumes is related to his work for the German broadcaster.

"I don't feel safe," he said. The 33-year-old has moved to a safe house away from his wife and five children, who are afraid to go outside. Neither the police nor security services have been able to find the people who threatened him. "They can't make me feel any safer," he said.

Eight journalists were killed in Afghanistan in 2014, making it the deadliest year for the media since 2001, when the U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban, rights groups say.

A free media had been hailed as one of Afghanistan's greatest achievements since the 2001 invasion, with almost 1,000 news organizations operating, compared to just 15 under the Taliban's extremist rule.

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Deadly attacks on journalists in Afghanistan rise, threatening free press