Kingsley Napley and Jenner & Block help resettle former female Afghan judge

The two firms announced in a press release that the mother and her son arrived in June and were reunited with their British family members in the UK. This outcome follows nearly two years of pro bono work by Jenner & Block and Kingsley Napley since they started representing the family after the fall of Kabul in August 2021. The legal team instructed barrister Helen Foot of Garden Court Chambers, who also worked on a pro bono basis.   
Here's the firms’ press release in full:
Y was a female judge and women’s rights defender in Afghanistan. During her two-decade long career, she held senior positions in the Afghan Criminal Court system, amongst others. She adjudicated cases involving the Taliban in crimes such as murder, kidnapping, violence against women, rape, terrorism offences and conspiring against the Afghan Government. 
After the Taliban takeover, Y and her son fled Afghanistan and lived in hiding in Pakistan in constant fear of Taliban retaliation or deportation to Afghanistan. In June 2023, the Home Office admitted the judge and her son to the UK on a resettlement scheme. The pair have been granted indefinite leave to enter and will be eligible to apply for British citizenship after five years. 
Kingsley Napley and Jenner & Block pooled their resources to maximise their impact, sharing experiences, contacts, and expertise in their respective practice areas. Both firms made commitments to dedicate resources and expertise on a pro bono basis to this important cause and are aligned in their core values of asserting fundamental human rights and challenging miscarriages of justice, abroad as well as in the UK. 
Y (now living with her son in the UK) expressed her sincere gratitude to the legal team and to the many others who helped her and her son in ending what has been the two most gruelling years of their lives. Y’s British family members, who worked closely with the legal team over the past two years, are also deeply grateful for all the support they received and are overjoyed to have Y and her son in safety with them every day.
Y said: “We are overjoyed to finally be with our family in the UK. We still cannot believe that the dream we didn't even dare to dream for so long has finally become a reality. The last almost two years have been the most gruelling time we've ever been through.
“Since August 2021, when the Taliban took over Kabul and we tried, unsuccessfully, to escape, we had to fear and fight for our life every day. We eventually managed to flee to Pakistan but had to remain in hiding as police regularly captured Afghan refugees and either imprisoned or deported them back to Afghanistan. Our initial hope to be granted a visa to come to the UK over time turned into hopelessness and despair.
“In Pakistan, the ongoing fear for our life and the restrictions we faced as a result placed an enormous burden on us mentally and emotionally. We only left the small apartment our family in the UK rented for us to go buy groceries or see the doctors. Two days before we flew to the UK, our apartment block got raided by police to arrest Afghan refugees - luckily we were out at the doctor's at the time.