Dangerous Prospects for Afghan Asylum Seekers in Britain
The Immigration Appeals Centre in London has denied the asylum appeal of four of the 31 Afghan asylum seekers who were on board the hijacked Afghan aircraft that arrived at Stansted airport in Essex on February 7 of this year. A 21-year-old former medical student told immigration officials, "I'm not prepared to go back to Afghanistan under any circumstances. If the worst comes to the worst you will have to kill me and send my body back to Afghanistan." He reported that he had received lashings and been imprisoned by the Taliban militia for serving women in his work at a tailor shop. The brutal gender apartheid policies of the Taliban have systematically stripped women and girls in Afghanistan of their visibility, voice, and mobility. Judge Hubert Dunn described the medical students claim to asylum as "all but non-existent." Alarmingly, one woman was among the most recent four denied asylum.
The asylum-seekers appealed Home Secretary Jack Straw's decision to deny them political asylum because they claim to fear that the Taliban militia will kill them if they are returned to Afghanistan. Those denied asylum have 10 days to make a final appeal. The verdict on the remaining appeals are expected to be handed down in the next few days.
Media Resources: Ananova 27 July 2000; BBC News 27 July 2000
5/22/2013 Immigration Reform Bill Advances In Senate - Last night, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a sweeping immigration reform bill in a bipartisan vote of 13 to 5. . . .
5/22/2013 Afghan Women Arrested for 'Moral Crimes' Increases 50% - A new report by the Human Rights Watch shows that in the past 18 months the number of women in Afghanistan incarcerated for 'moral crimes' has increased from 400 to 600, a 50% growth.
Many of the women imprisoned for moral crimes were arrested running away from forced or abusive marriages and families, even though there is no law against leaving. . . .
5/22/2013 Army Commander Suspended for Adultery Amid Wave of Sexual Assaults - On Tuesday, Brigadier General Bryan T Roberts was suspended from his position as commander of the Fort Jackson, South Carolina training camp which trains approximately 60% of incoming female recruits pending an investigation into allegations of adultery.
Roberts was suspended following allegations of "adultery and a physical altercation." Colonel Christian Kubik, an Army spokesperson for the Training and Doctrine Command, told reporters "We don't have any evidence of any sexual assault. . . .
