Lawyers for the woman – referred to as ‘Y’ – said on Saturday they had appealed on behalf of their client and her son to the Immigration Tribunal, saying she had been left in a “severely vulnerable position” by the removal of British and other western troops. They said the British government’s decision prevented them from being reunited with British and UK-based family members, who said they were “very afraid he will kill himself”. The woman, 52, and her son, 24, fled Afghanistan and are hiding in Pakistan after their home in Kabul was attacked and several of her former colleagues were killed, her lawyers said in a statement. There are believed to be around 70 Afghan female judges in Afghanistan and around 70 more who have escaped but are in similar circumstances to Y. Katie Newbury, a partner at Kingsley Napley, the firm representing her, said the mother and son “are not safe or secure where they are now and have close family in the UK willing to support them”. “Since November we have repeatedly hounded the Home Office for a decision given the precarious situation,” he tweeted, adding that the Home Office had been “dragging their feet”. At one point, he said they were told the delays were due to the diversion of resources to Ukraine. After nine months the applications were rejected. The appeal is expected to take months. “The continuing toll of this delay is described with sadness by Y’s nephew in the UK,” Newbury said, continuing to quote him. “The long delay and now the denial is adding to the stress and poor mental health of my aunt and her son in Pakistan and our whole family in the UK. My aunt has been in extremely poor mental health for the past few months and we fear she will kill herself.” Y’s legal team said her successful two-decade career in the Afghan justice system included senior positions in the criminal justice system and tried cases involving crimes such as murder, rape, violence against women, terrorism offenses and conspiracy against the Afghan government. She was also responsible for security affairs involving members of the Taliban who have since been released and have roles in the new government. Her applications, filed in November, included arguments under Article 8 of the European Court of Human Rights, the right to respect for private and family life. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Her lawyers believe she met the eligibility criteria for resettlement in the UK at the time of the initial evacuation but was not invited to move forward, possibly as a result of an administrative error. Oliver Oldman, a partner at Kingsley Napley, told the Guardian that the former judge and her son could only continue to live in their flat because of the good will of the landlord. The owner was putting himself at risk of criminal punishment and they live “under the daily threat of being discovered by the authorities in Pakistan,” he said. If discovered they will “almost inevitably” be deported to Afghanistan where they face a “high probability” of being killed. A Home Office spokesman said: “The UK is taking a leading role in the international response to support Afghan citizens at risk and has made one of the largest resettlement commitments of any country. “This includes welcoming more than 21,000 Afghan women, children and other at-risk groups to the UK through a safe and legal pathway to resettlement in the UK.”
