Public Law Solicitors

Duncan Lewis Solicitors are challenging the continuing policy of the Home Secretary to carry out removals to Afghanistan and are attempting to obtain interim relief to stop the charter flight scheduled for Tuesday 10 March 2015.

Afghanistan remains a deeply unstable country with a high level of indiscriminate violence resulting in a significant amount of civilian fatalities and a lack of infrastructure which struggles to handle the influx of returnees.

The Afghan Minister for Repatriation and Refugees Hussain Alami Balkhi has requested that all returns to Afghanistan are ceased for the time being.

As a result of the current situation in Afghanistan, Duncan Lewis Solicitors have been instructed by around twenty of the returnees due to be removed on this charter fight. It is now intended to prepare those applications for judicial review to the Upper Tribunal. We intend to request interim relief to suspend their removal and that of the charter flight due to depart the United Kingdom on 22:30 on Tuesday 10 March 2015.

Evidence obtained in support of this request by Duncan Lewis include statements from the Afghan Ambassador Mohammed David Yaur and Eva Joly MEP confirming the ministers position and a statement and expert report by Dr Liza Schuster, an expert in Afghan removals who in a meeting with the Minister for Repatriation and Refugees was requested to use her contacts to pressure the returning countries to suspend removal.

Counsel instructed are Ali Bandegani and Sonali Naik from Garden Court Chambers.

For more details contact:

Toufique Hossain at toufiqueh@duncanlewis.com - 020 3114 1128.
Lewis Kett at lewisk@duncanlewis.com - 0203 114 1178.
Tamara Smillie at tamaras@duncanlewis.com - 0203 114 1218.
Jamie Bell at jamieb@duncanlewis.com - 0203 114 1184.