Afghan judge appeals after her bid to enter UK is denied

A FEMALE former Afghan judge in hiding from the Taliban has appealed to the Home Office after it denied her application for permission to enter the UK.

Legal firm Kingsley Napley announced yesterday that it had filed the first appeal at the Immigration Tribunal on behalf of their client, who is named only as Y, and her son.

Lawyers said the Government’s decision has prevented the pair from reuniting with British and settled family members in the UK, including her nephew who works as a civil servant.

They also said she has been left in a ‘gravely vulnerable position’ as Y and her son were forced to flee Afghanistan to go into hiding in Pakistan after her home was attacked in Kabul and several of her colleagues were assassinated.

The team described how Y presided over security cases in which Taliban members were sentenced and who have now been freed from prison.

Y’s initial application to come to the UK, which was lodged last November, was rejected by the Home Office earlier this month.

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘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.’