Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Mar 31, 2023

Ex-BBC Afghan journalists may be evacuated to UK after legal challenge

Ex-BBC Afghan journalists may be evacuated to UK after legal challenge

Eight Afghan journalists who worked for the BBC could be evacuated to the UK after a judge ordered ministers to reconsider their plight.

The group has spent more than a year in hiding in Afghanistan after they were left behind during the August 2021 British withdrawal.

Ministers had rejected their cases, a year after receiving the applications.

One of the group said on Monday that the Taliban believed he was a spy and had already tried to shoot him.

All eight of the journalists had worked for many years for the BBC in Afghanistan. Some of them had also worked more directly with the British government on projects including democracy and media training. But as the Taliban increasingly took over, they and their families became the target of threats.

The High Court in London was told that one of the journalists had a bomb placed under their car, another was shot at in public - leading to the severe injury of a family member - and two others had been interrogated and tortured in relation to their work for the BBC.

Since August 2021, the British government has evacuated 21,000 Afghans and their families, a group that includes local people who were working for British media agencies.

But when those lists were drawn up, the BBC did not include any of the eight.

During the mass evacuation, there were chaotic scenes outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul

Erin Alock, the group's lawyer, said their pleas for help went unanswered for a year.

"When the British evacuated from Kabul, they were not put forward for evacuation by the BBC, because they weren't employed at that time," she said.

"They were left behind. But the work that they were doing did go to British objectives in Afghanistan, those objectives weren't just military objectives. They were things like promoting democracy."

When their applications were eventually considered, ministers refused to resettle any of them because officials concluded their work wasn't directly connected to UK operations.

On Monday, a judge said those rejections had not taken into account how the Taliban perceived the BBC and anyone associated to it.

Had government case workers recognised this risk, said Mr Justice Lane, there was "more than fanciful prospect" that the eight would have been allowed to come to the UK.


'Targeted as spy'


One of the group, who was shot at in the street by a Taliban gunman, thanked the judge on Monday for intervening. The BBC is not reporting specific threats he has experienced because of the risk of identifying him.

"We have regularly changed our house - my children have been to different schools," he said.

"Day by day, journalists and human rights activists are being followed by the Taliban authorities. They see the BBC as the enemy, some kind of spy agency.

"The Taliban authorities have been very severe with national journalists who, like me, have worked with international media.

"Any of us who have worked with the British or American media are under a serious threat.

"I just want to thank the judge for reversing this decision."

Ministers now have 21 days reconsider each case - a move that the group hopes will lead to their evacuation.

A spokesman for the government said it would consider the judgment - but has given no immediate commitment to evacuate the group. Officials said there may still be 300 people plus family members in Afghanistan who need bringing to the UK.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
Close
0:00
0:00
Don’t Dismiss China’s Peacemaking Bid
China and Brazil have signed a new deal that will allow them to trade in their own currencies, bypassing the US dollar as an intermediary
Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing ‘Profound Risks to Society’
“We've had evidence prior to the pandemic that masks were largely ineffective at preventing community transmission of influenza “
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz:
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz rejects being labeled a "billionaire"
Jamie Dimon is being deposed over JPMorgan Chase role in Epstein lawsuits
Brand new security footage has just been released to the public showing the Active shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale drove to Covenant Church School in her Honda Fit this morning, parked, and shot her way into the building
Smart Iranian fashion designer teaching dummy TV anchors lesson about reality
U.S. charges FTX's Bankman-Fried with paying $40 million bribe
Fallen 'Crypto King' Who Owes Millions to Investors Was Kidnapped and Tortured
Regulators blame social media for SVB's rapid collapse: 'Complete game changer'
AOC explains why she opposes banning TikTok
Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel Corporation, died at 94
Powell: Silicon Valley Bank was an 'outlier'
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
A brief banking situation report
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
Silicon Valley Bank: Struggles Threaten Tech Startup Ecosystem"
The unelected UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an immigrant himself, defends new controversial crackdown on illegal migration
Man’s penis amputated by mistake after he’s wrongly diagnosed with a tumour
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Spain officials quit over trains that were too wide for tunnels...
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
European MP Clare Daly condemns US attack on Nord Stream
Tucker Carlson called Trump a 'demonic force'
US Joins 15 NATO Nations in Largest Space Data Collection Initiative in History
White House: No ETs over the United States
Saray Street in Hatay-Antakya before and after the earthquake
U.S. Jet Shoots Down Flying Object Over Canada
Nord Stream terror attack: David Sacks breaks down Sy Hersh's story
Being a Tiktoker might be expensive…
Miracle: El Salvador Search and Rescue teams, with the support of Turkish teams, rescued a woman and a child from the rubble 150 hours after the earthquake
SpaceX, the private space exploration company, made a significant breakthrough in their mission to reach space.
China's top tech firms, including Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, NetEase, and JD.com, are developing their own versions of Open AI's AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT
This shocking picture, showing how terrible is the results of the earthquake in Turkey
President Joe Biden delivered the 2023 State of the Union Address , in order to help Americans that missed the 2022 speech, do not have internet, and suffer from short memory.
The desk of King Carlos Alberto of Sardinia has many secret compartments
×