UK starts a secret program for the resettlement of Afghans according to data leak

UK starts a secret program for the resettlement of Afghans according to data leak

London - Great Britain has launched a secret program to relocate thousands of Afghans to the United Kingdom after a soldier accidentally disclosed personal data from over 33,000 people. This was a significant risk to those affected, since they were exposed to reprisals by the Taliban. This emerges from court documents published on Tuesday.

court judgment and possible relocations

A judge at the Hochgericht in London found in a judgment from May 2024 that around 20,000 people may have to be offered to the UK. The government could probably cost this measure several billion pounds.

Current situation of the persons concerned

The current Defense Minister Great Britain, John Healey, said that around 4,500 of the people concerned are either already in Great Britain or are on the way there, which causes costs of around £ 400. In addition, the government is faced with complaints from people who are affected by the incident, which could further increase the final costs of the incident.

scope of the data incident

A review of the data incident commissioned by the Ministry of Defense, the summary of which was also published on Tuesday, showed that over 16,000 persons affected by this year have already been relocated to the United Kingdom.

background of the incident

The British government was forced to act after the data break revealed the names of Afghans, the British armed forces had helped during their work in Afghanistan before they withdraw from the country under chaotic circumstances in 2021. The details came to light after a legal order, known as Superinjunction, was lifted. This injunction was issued in 2023 after the Ministry of Defense argued that the public disclosure of the incident could expose the persons concerned to a risk of extra -galgal killings or serious violence by the Taliban.

data publication and legal steps

The data record concerned contained personal information from almost 19,000 Afghans who had submitted an application for relocation to the UK, as well as information about their families. The data record was accidentally published in early 2022 before the Ministry of Defense discovered the incident in August 2023 when part of the data record was published on Facebook. The former conservative government had obtained the injunction the following month.

outlook for the future

The new government under the Labor boss Keir Strander, who was elected last July, has initiated a review of the injunction, the data incident and the relocation program. This review found that although Afghanistan is still dangerous, there is hardly any evidence that the Taliban want to carry out a targeted retaliation campaign.