Afghan military interpreter denied refuge by Britain has been executed

An Afghan military interpreter denied refuge by Britain has been executed trying to reach the West.

Known to the UK soldiers he served with as Popal, he was tortured and murdered after being captured in Iran.

Another four interpreters are feared to have suffered the same fate while using people smugglers to flee the Taliban. 

Anyone they find who has worked for Britain or allied forces is tortured and killed, the smugglers have told us, because they are seen as Western spies,’ said a source who served with British forces alongside Popal. 

‘The smugglers warn us before we begin the journey that there is a good chance we will be captured and that if that happens “you are on your own”.

‘Some Afghans who were stopped making the journey to Europe have been enrolled in the Iranian military and sent to fight in Syria. Others have been brutally questioned. If you say you have worked for the British or the Americans, then it is likely you will be killed.’

His friend said Popal’s brother had been killed by the Taliban in his home city of Kandahar because of his work with UK forces. ‘The British did not believe that Popal’s life was in danger but he believed that if he stayed in Afghanistan he would be killed,’ he added.

‘He had written and telephone threats … and escaped an ambush so he said he had no alternative but to try to reach Germany.

‘It was a last resort but the decision is simple: if he stayed, he knew he would be hunted down. If he went, he would at least have a chance of an honest life not wondering who is behind him all the time.

‘It is disgusting the British let him down after he risked his life to help them, and to save their lives, now he has lost his own.’

Culled from Daily Mail