Afghan translator who helped British troops wins a safe haven
Afghan translator who helped British troops and his family win a safe haven in the UK thanks to Daily Mail campaign
- Niz, 31, his wife and children will be given a new home in the UK in coming weeks
- The rules implemented by the Ministry of Defence follow a Daily Mail campaign
- Another 49 interpreters who served on the frontline are also expected to benefit
An Afghan interpreter and his family have been granted sanctuary in Britain in a major victory for the Daily Mail.
Niz, 31, his wife, and his five young children, will be given a new home in the UK in the coming weeks after being repeatedly threatened by the Taliban.
They are the first family to benefit from new qualifying measures which enable those interpreters who served alongside UK troops before 2012 to come to Britain.
The interpreter and his family will be given a new home in the UK in the coming weeks after being repeatedly threatened by the Taliban. (Stock image)
Another 49 interpreters who served on the frontline in Helmand are expected to benefit from the rules – implemented by the Ministry of Defence in June following a long-running campaign by this newspaper.
From Afghanistan, Niz, a university graduate, said: ‘My wife and I are very excited about coming to the UK and being able to give our family a secure future.
‘It has been a long and difficult wait during which we have faced huge threats but we feel very excited about the opportunity to build a safe future for our family.’
He added: ‘We know we are fortunate and I will work hard to show it was the right decision.’
The Mail’s award-winning Betrayal of the Brave campaign first raised the case of Niz, an ex-Army and Foreign Office translator, in August 2015.
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In the three years since then, the former politics student said he had been ‘running and hiding’ from the Taliban and unable to live with his wife and family.
He was refused sanctuary in the UK repeatedly, but was told a few weeks ago he would be given a visa after Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson tore up the previous ‘failed’ policy.
Last night he said: ‘We owe a huge debt of gratitude to interpreters who risked their lives working alongside UK forces in Afghanistan, which is why I expanded the eligibility criteria earlier this year.’
Another 49 interpreters who served on the frontline in Helmand are expected to benefit from the rules – implemented by the Ministry of Defence. (Stock image of youths playing football in Kabul)
Niz worked as an interpreter for UK troops for five months between May and October 2009 in the Electronic Warfare squadron.
He then worked for the FCO in the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Helmand, from October 2009 to June 2012, when he was made redundant.
In this role he sat down with Taliban commanders and tribal leaders on behalf of UK officials as well as translating the cases of enemy prisoners.
His face alongside British officers was shown on both Afghan and international TV, images that can still be seen on the internet, marking him out to insurgents.
The Mail highlighted his case when Niz claimed that either he or his family had been attacked by Taliban gunmen three times.
He also provided evidence including photographs of a bullet-riddled, blood-stained car after a Taliban ambush near his home in Kunar province.
He said he believed the ambush had been meant for him because the vehicle was similar to the one he owned, but instead two innocent mechanics were killed.
Despite this, Niz, whose full identity cannot be disclosed for security reasons, was told he did not qualify to come to the UK under an ‘intimidation’ scheme.
This was because British officials said they did not accept he was under threat.
Niz also did not qualify under a ‘relocation’ scheme because he had to be serving on an arbitrary date in December 2012 to qualify.
He had been made redundant six months earlier.
Under the new policy, Mr Williamson widened the qualifying period to include those who spent at least a year with British forces as far back as 2006.
They also have to have served in Helmand – the scene of some of the fiercest fighting – for at least a year.
Last night Niz praised the Betrayal of the Brave campaign which he said ‘never gave up’ on translators threatened by the Taliban.
He said: ‘I thank the British Government but to be honest, it was all because of the Daily Mail. Without your help and determination over many difficult and dangerous years this would not have happened.’
Hundreds of interpreters still do not qualify under the new scheme, including the longest-serving military interpreter, Ricky, even though he risked his life repeatedly.
Niz added: ‘I know we are lucky to be among those going to the UK and there are many others who loyally served the British and risked their lives daily who have not been as lucky and have been rejected.
‘I would ask that they are not forgotten or left without hope.’
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