Female Afghan judge fleeing Taliban appeals against denial of entry to UK

A female former judge from Afghanistan has appealed against the Home Office decision to deny her entry to the UK, according to media reports.

According to her lawyers, the woman, 52, and her son, 24, fled Afghanistan and are in hiding in Pakistan after their home in Kabul was attacked and several of her former colleagues assassinated, reports said. 

Lawyers from Kingsley Napley said that they had filed the first appeal at the Immigration Tribunal on behalf of their client - named only as "Y" - and her son.

They added that the judge once presided over cases concerning Taliban members, violence against women, rape, terrorism offences and conspiring against the Afghan government

"If any case should be granted on compassionate grounds, it is this one. Our client is in constant fear she will be discovered and deported back to Afghanistan where she and her son's personal safety is at risk," Oliver Oldman, a Kingsley Napley immigration solicitor, was quoted as saying by Sky News.

The former judge has British and settled family members in the UK, including her nephew who works as a civil servant.

An application for entry into the UK was submitted in November last year, which included arguments made under Article 8 of the European Court of Human Rights, the right to respect for private and family life. The Home Office rejected the application this month. 

Following the denial, Oldman accused the government of creating a 'false narrative' around safe and legal migration routes.

The government recently published updated figures on the number of people who had been brought from Afghanistan to safety in the UK, following demands for information ahead of the one-year anniversary of Taliban forces capturing Kabul.

The total exceeded 21,000 people, the government said, including British nationals and their families, Afghans who worked for the UK, and people identified as high-risk.

The number of Afghan refugees who had arrived in the UK has not been provided.

"The UK is taking a leading role in the international response to supporting at-risk Afghan citizens and has made one of the largest resettlement commitments of any country," said a Home Office spokesperson.

"This includes welcoming over 21,000 Afghan women, children and other at-risk groups to the UK through a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK."

Afghanistan's Taliban celebrated the first anniversary of their seizure of Kabul last week. Supporters took to Twitter to commemorate their suicide bombers, using the hashtag "martyrdom seekers" and posting dozens of videos of attacks and explosions.