The European Court of Human Rights issued a judgment on Tuesday that could influence the way Estonia will decide about whether or not to grant asylum to a young Afghan man claiming to be in danger after the coalition troops leave the country because of his service as interpreter to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the evening news of ETV television said.
The European Court of Human Rights found that Britain can relocate to Afghanistan two Afghan men one of whom previously had worked as a driver for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the United Nations Office for Project Service and the other as an interpreter for the United States armed forces and ISAF. Both have sought asylum in Britain citing a threat to their lives and the lives of their close ones in Afghanistan.
The court found that the removal of the men to Afghanistan would not violate their human rights because the security situation in Afghanistan has improved.
As regards the first applicant the court ruled that there is no reason to suggest that he had a high profile in Kabul such that he would remain known there after the passage of time or that he would be recognized elsewhere in Afghanistan as a result of his work. It said the applicant has failed to present evidence demonstrating that there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be exposed to a real risk of being subjected to treatment contrary to Article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms if removed to Afghanistan.
As regards the second applicant, who worked as an interpreter in Kunar province where he had no particular profile, the court said he has not submitted any evidence or reason to suggest that he would be identified in Kabul, an area outside of the control of the Taliban, or that he would come to the adverse attention of the Taliban there, and that the applicant has failed to demonstrate that his return to Afghanistan would be in violation of Article 3 of the convention.
Government sources approached by ETV knew about the judgment concerning the two Afghan nationals but were not yet prepared to comment.
As regards the young man who worked as an interpreter for the Estonian contingent with ISAF, identified by his first name as Omar, information is being collected now and the Estonian charge d'affaires in Afghanistan has been tasked with putting additional questions to him. The application for asylum filed by Omar as of now is not a document that could be treated as an application for asylum under Estonian law and consequently the decision about the young man can only be political. In principle, officials at different ministries are suggesting that the answer to Omar's application rather will be no, ETV said.
The reasons include that Omar's wish remains unclear, as he sometimes claims that his life is in danger if he stays in Afghanistan and then says the reason for applying is the wish to study in Estonia. Second, the Afghanistan central government's being able to protect its citizens itself is the reason why coalition forces are being withdrawn in the first place, as has been said to ETV also by the foreign minister of Afghanistan.
Also the judgment by the European Court of Human Rights from Tuesday, which says that people who have worked closely with coalition forces are not in greater danger in Afghanistan than all others, will definitely have an effect on the Estonian decision, ETV said.