Lawyers urge UK government to help stranded Afghan judge

Lawyers are collaborating in an urgent bid to secure the evacuation of a female judge who worked on women’s rights protection in Afghanistan.

A team of pro bono lawyers are trying to secure the unnamed judge a visa. The lawyer is said to be in hiding in the country following the withdrawal of allied troops and the takeover of power by the Taliban. Direct appeals were made overnight for intervention and safely securing the lawyer out of Afghanistan.

The plight of the 250 women who served as judges in Afghanistan under the previous regime has been a constant source of concern for the legal community.

Earlier this month, Sir Bob Neill, chair of the justice select committee, said in a Commons debate that these women could become targets for the Taliban and called for them to be given priority in being brought to safety.

Judges, lawyers and prosecutors were already being targeted for assassination even before the Taliban swept into power. Their families are now in hiding.

The Law Society has urged that judges and other legal professionals working in Afghanistan must be supported by the UK government and offered safe passage, safety and asylum in this country.

United Nations this week said it expect the Taliban to honor a commitment to allow Afghans to leave the country.

The resolution calls for safe passage for all those who wish to leave, urgent humanitarian access and respect for human rights, and insists that Afghan territory must not be used to threaten or attack any other country or to shelter and train terrorists.

Source: Law Society of UK