Afghan judge who tackled insurgents denied UK visa

An Afghan judge who prosecuted hundreds of Taliban insurgents as part of Britain’s counterterrorism strategy in the country is being refused safe, legal passage by the Home Office.

Initially, the British authorities denied receiving Judge Sayed’s application to relocate from Afghanistan to the UK. Since acknowledging his request, however, the Home Office has twice refused to grant him a visa, despite the High Court highlighting the substantial evidence documenting Sayed’s commitment to the UK mission and the danger he faces.

Between 2008 and 2011, Sayed delivered sentences at the Justice Centre in Parwan (JCIP) at Bagram airbase and at Kabul’s counterterrorism court. Those convicted included Taliban fighters, al-Qaeda members, Isis and Haqqani Network detainees captured on the battlefield.

The men were freed through the US peace deal and now pose a threat to Judge Sayed and others involved in jailing them. However, the Home Office is refusing to grant him safe legal passage on the grounds that he did not make “a material contribution to the UK’s mission”, The Times can disclose.

 “My brother doesn’t regret serving justice to those who killed innocent people, but he is very disappointed by the way he has been treated by the UK government,” his brother Behzad, a British citizen living in the UK, said. “The UK relied on the judges at JCIP. Not only are they refusing to relocate him but they are denying what he did.”

The day before Kabul fell on August 15, Sayed and his brother Mayhan, who worked as a court clerk in JCIP, submitted applications for relocation.

Messages between Behzad and his former colleagues who were involved in Operation Pitting – the British military operation to evacuate civilians from Afghanistan – confirm Behzad’s brothers and their families were on the evacuation list. However, the brothers were unable to get to Kabul’s international airport due to the chaos as thousands tried to flee, and a suicide bomb attack killed nearly 200 people.

When a flight out was no longer an option, they went into hiding. The family had already been targeted: a cousin who had also been a judge was assassinated in 2020. They blame the Taliban for his death. Sayed has received threats to his life since 2014.

On April 6 the Home Office once again denied Sayed’s application, citing ineligibility, but failed to make any acknowledgment of the danger he faces. Sayed’s legal team are challenging the decision once more on the grounds of the imminent threat he faces.