An Afghan judge and women’s rights defender has been denied permission to enter the UK due to a lack of ‘sufficient compelling and compassionate circumstances’.
Lawyers from Kingsley Napley LLP, Jenner & Block London LLP and counsel Helen Foot of Garden Court Chambers, all working pro bono, lodged an appeal on behalf of the woman, named only as Y for her own safety, and her son in November last year.
Y was denied leave to enter the UK by the Home Office in August 2022. Y’s legal team lodged an appeal and the Immigration Tribunal directed the Home Office to review its decision. Earlier this month, the Home Office pre appeals review unit denied Y’s case again.
Y was a female judge and women’s rights defender in Afghanistan. She held senior positions in the criminal court system during her two-decade long career and adjudicated cases involving murder, kidnapping, violence against women, rape, terrorism offences and conspiring against the Afghan government involving the Taliban.
In its review decision, the government said Y’s work ‘contributed to the UK government’s objectives in Afghanistan to promote the rule of law.’
Y fled Afghanistan after an attack on her home in Kabul and the assassination of a number of former colleagues following last year’s Taliban takeover. She and her son are currently in hiding in Pakistan.
Lawyers acting for Y say she and her son ‘remain at great risk from Taliban retaliation’ and ‘live in hiding in constant fear that they will be discovered and deported to Afghanistan.’ Y sought formal leave to enter the UK and to be reunited with British family members, including her nephew who is a civil servant within the government.
Before her escape, Y had been subject to death threats and attacks on her home from the Taliban. Since the Taliban regime’s return in Afghanistan, many of the people Y sentenced to prison have been released and threatened revenge.
The review decision is not available publicly but was shared with the legal team.
Oliver Oldman, Kingsley Napley’s immigration associate, said: ‘The Home Office’s review decision displays the same callousness and seemingly intentional disregard for the evidence as the initial refusal decisions.’
Lucy Blake of Jenner & Block special counsel described the ‘impossible to comprehend’ decision as ‘deeply disappointing.’ She added: ‘Y and her son are in acute danger from the Taliban as a direct result of Y having fought for and defended democracy, women’s rights, and the rule of law – the very values and freedoms upheld by the UK in Afghanistan. They have close family members who want – and have the means – to house and support them in the UK, meaning their relocation wouldn’t even incur a cost for the taxpayer.’
Baroness Kennedy (Helena Kennedy KC) has written a letter in support of Y and her son’s case. She said: ‘The Home Office’s decision is a profound disappointment. It is wholly inconsistent with the UK Government’s repeated pledges to support at-risk Afghan human rights defenders.’
This year’s Day of the Endangered Lawyer focused on Afghanistan. Law Society president Lubna Shuja said lawyers and judges ‘who were the beating heart’ of Afghanistan’s judiciary ‘now find themselves at terrible risk.’ She added: ‘The Law Society stands in solidarity with legal professionals in Afghanistan and around the world.’
The Immigration Tribunal will hear Y’s case later this year.
