Afghan journalists partially win case against UK govt over relocation

Lawyers for the government had argued that none of the eight were eligible for relocation under its Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) programme.

• Mohnish Singh
• 13 February, 2023

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By: Mohnish Singh

Eight Afghan journalists who worked for the BBC and other British media organisations partially won a legal challenge on Monday against the British government’s refusal to relocate them from Afghanistan.

The journalists’ lawyers told London’s High Court in December that the eight, who are not in Britain, all worked “alongside and in support of the British government’s mission” in Afghanistan, meaning they are at high risk of being killed by the country’s Taliban rulers.

Lawyers for the government had argued that none of the eight were eligible for relocation under its Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) programme.

Judge Peter Lane said in a written ruling that the government’s decision had been made on the wrong basis.

The government had considered whether working for the BBC amounted to working for the government, he said, rather than whether a journalist could be said to have worked alongside a government department, in partnership with or closely supporting it.

(Reuters)