Translator who risked life for UK troops is to be kicked out of Britain
AN Afghan interpreter who risked his life to protect British soldiers is to be kicked out of the UK and sent back to the Taliban.
The 31-year-old, who fled Afghanistan after receiving death threats from the terror group, faces deportation after a judge ruled it was safe for him to go back and rejected his asylum claim.
This was despite serving and former Army officers giving evidence to a tribunal saying he saved many British lives and that he could be killed if he goes back.
The father of three, known as Ahmed, whose real name cannot be disclosed for his safety, said last night: ‘It is like someone has executed me. The Taliban call me a traitor and a spy. If I go back, I know that they will find me – and kill me.’
His case contrasts that of a Sudanese migrant who walked 31 miles through the Channel Tunnel to Britain and was granted asylum this month. Abdul Rahman Haroun can now claim benefits and live in state-funded accommodation.
Senior military figures branded the ruling against Ahmed as ‘ridiculous’ and Tory MP Julian Lewis, chairman of the Commons defence committee, said it was ‘utterly indefensible’.
The Daily Mail’s Betrayal of the Brave campaign, backed by military chiefs and MPs, has called for translators to be given sanctuary. The Government only grants asylum to those with at least a year’s service after December 2011 – unless they can show they were threatened, in which case they can apply while still in Afghanistan under a separate ‘intimidation scheme’.
Ahmed, who is sleeping on a sofa in the North, joined the Army in 2007 and served in Helmand Province for over two years. He monitored Taliban radio and warned of imminent attacks and the location of roadside bombs. He also translated when they met locals. The Taliban branded him a ‘slave and a spy’ for the British and he received death threats over the telephone.
In 2013 he paid people-smugglers in Kabul £3,215 to help him escape. He travelled via Turkey, Greece and Italy to Calais, and reached the UK in October that year in the back of a lorry. Two days later he put in an asylum claim, but it was rejected in October 2014. His lawyers appealed, but it was rejected again because the judge said it was safe to return. Ahmed’s brother, also an ex-interpreter, was granted sanctuary on the grounds that the Taliban might kill him if he returned.
Ahmed said: ‘[The Home Office] could come for me today, tomorrow, every day I am scared. I helped protect English people but now no one is helping me.’
Colonel Simon Diggins, ex-military attache to the British Embassy in Kabul, said last night: ‘I’m appealing for a generosity of spirit. This man risked his life to help us.’ In evidence to the tribunal, he said the idea Ahmed would be safe in Kabul was ‘as ridiculous as it is disingenuous’.
Lieutenant Colonel Guy Stone, of the Welsh Guards, said Ahmed was ‘loyal and brave’, adding: ‘He kept us alive.’ Major David Landon, of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, said he twice saw Afghan soldiers threatening Ahmed with rifles and that he would face a ‘clear danger’ if he goes home.
Lord West, former head of the Navy, added: ‘It seems absolutely extraordinary when you think of the people we are allowing to stay in this country and contrast that with someone who put his life on the line to assist our soldiers.’
Tribunal judge Steven Alis said he had ‘sympathy’ for Ahmed but added: ‘If he has a fear of returning to ... his own village, I am satisfied it would not be unreasonable for him to relocate to a city such as Kabul where the Taliban has considerably less influence.’
Ahmed’s lawyer submitted new evidence, but he received a letter in November saying he was ‘expected to make arrangements to leave without delay’. His lawyer is now seeking a judicial review.
The Home Office said: ‘All [asylum] claims are carefully considered ... but we expect those who are found not to need our protection to leave the UK. Our decision in this case has been upheld by an independent immigration judge.’
An MoD spokesman said Ahmed did not apply for asylum under the intimidation scheme.