Translator abandoned by UK is executed as he tries to flee Taliban
AN AFGHAN military interpreter denied refuge by Britain has been executed trying to reach the West.
Known to the UK soldiers he served with as Popal, he was tortured and murdered after being captured in Iran.
Another four interpreters are feared to have suffered the same fate while using people smugglers to flee the Taliban. Their families believe the missing men may have been killed by the Iranian authorities or by militias.
‘Anyone they find who has worked for Britain or allied forces is tortured and killed, the smugglers have told us, because they are seen as Western spies,’ said a source who served with British forces personnel alongside Popal.
‘The smugglers warn us before we begin the journey that there is a good chance we will be captured and that if that happens “You are on your own”.
‘Some Afghans who were stopped making the journey to Europe have been enrolled in the Iranian military and sent to fight in Syria. Others have been brutally questioned. If you say you have worked for the British or the Americans, then it is likely you will be killed.’
Another 23 interpreters ‘abandoned’ by Britain have successfully reached Europe with 20 thought to be in Germany.
Popal decided to flee Kabul after repeated death threats from Taliban agents. UK investigators refused to help, claiming there was insufficient evidence that his life was at risk.
Popal, who was wounded in Helmand while serving with the Parachute Regiment, is said to have been executed near the Iranian city of Mashhad.
His friend said Popal’s brother had been killed by the Taliban in his home city of Kandahar because of his work with UK f orces. ‘ The British did not believe that Popal’s life was in danger but he believed that if he stayed in Afghanistan he would be killed,’ he added.
‘He had received written and telephone threats… and escaped an ambush so he said he had no alternative but to try to reach Germany.
‘It was a last resort but the decision is simple: if he stayed, he knew he would be hunted down. If he went, he would at least have a chance of an honest life not wondering who is behind him all the time.
‘It is disgusting the British let him down after he risked his life to help them, and to save their lives, now he has lost his own.’
The doomed journey cost Popal £6,500. His body was returned to Kandahar last week.
The Daily Mail has spoken to nine former British military interpreters who say that they have approached people smugglers to ask for help.
Five of them said that if there was no ‘movement’ in their cases from the UK, they would resort to braving the route through Iran. All favoured Germany as their goal.
Yesterday the Mail revealed that Chris, an SAS interpreter who worked for Gordon Brown during a visit to Afghanistan, claimed he was preparing to pay smugglers £5,000 to journey along the same route because he had been ‘abandoned’ by Britain.
Chris, who has moved home a dozen times because of threats, said he has repeatedly asked to be allowed to come to the UK and has written directly to Downing Street and the Border Agency. He received no reply.
He said that colleagues who served with US and Canadian forces had been given sanctuary.
UK officials stress each case is i ndividually examined and assessed by British officials in Afghanistan.
Another Afghan considering paying traffickers i s ex- UK military and Foreign Office interpreter Niz, whose family has been attacked three times by gunmen hunting him.
In March, the Taliban launched an ambush near his home in Kunar province, attacking a vehicle identical to his and killing two innocent men and injuring a third.
‘This is only because of my work for the British and I have asked them for help, for asylum, but regretfully I am stuck here ,’ said the law student.
‘The attitude of the British drives people to take desperate measures to ensure their safety. It is disgusting and we feel abandoned. What price, what risk do we put on our lives?’
The 26-year-old father worked for three years for the British – sitting down with Taliban commanders on behalf of senior UK officials.
He also intercepted Taliban battlefield communications, meaning UK and US soldiers were able to kill and capture fighters whose comrades now want revenge.