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Quote:Revealed: Taliban sell £40 fake death threats for asylum seekers to dupe UKArchived Telegraph Article:
Home Office lacks ability to identify fraudulent letters from Afghan officials, migrants say
'Fake death threat letters from the Taliban are being used to dupe the Home Office in asylum
applications for Afghan migrants. A Telegraph investigation can reveal how corrupt officials in
Afghanistan produce government letters threatening to kill asylum seekers.
The letters are then used as evidence in asylum applications.
To demonstrate how easily such documents can be obtained, an undercover Telegraph reporter
paid Taliban officials £40 to produce three fake letters from different regional offices on official
headed paper, signed by local administrators. The letters can be published in full, but have been
redacted to protect sources.
They include warnings that the Taliban will “deliver justice upon you” — shorthand for execution
— for co-operating with the “evil government of England”. One letter says: “The mujahideen monitor
all your activity on social media and will deliver justice when they see you. God will be pleased and
you will be freed from this shameful life.”
The practice of purchasing fake letters raises fresh questions about the integrity of the asylum system
and whether genuine refugees are being disadvantaged by forgeries. Multiple migrants housed in Home
Office hotels and Taliban officials in Afghanistan told The Telegraph that the use of fake letters is
widespread.
In one case, a rejected asylum seeker said they submitted a fake letter in an appeal as evidence of
facing danger in Afghanistan. The new application was then approved, although it is not clear if the
letter was the only piece of evidence that judges took into account.
In 2022, more than 100,000 Afghans applied to come to Britain, claiming to have helped or fought
alongside UK forces before the 2021 withdrawal. But multiple sources told The Telegraph that the
vast majority had no such connection. The Ministry of Defence believes only a small proportion of
asylum claims are genuine.
The fake letters often cite the destination country by name, accusing applicants of “co-operation” with
that government and warning of death if they return to Afghanistan. The undercover reporter requested
letters from a Taliban official in an unnamed Afghan city for three fictional Afghans seeking asylum in
Britain.
The official offered two versions: a standard letter for £40 and a “premium” version — complete with
an official stamp and a “100 per cent approval rate” — for £200 [$267.07].
One letter says the Taliban regime has proven the applicant’s contact with the British Government.
“After several acts of Islamic kindness by the mujahideen, your work continued,” the letter says before
threatening to kill them. Another letter warns: “Be aware that your family is under arrest and surveillance
by the Islamic Emirate, and we have proof of your co-operation with England.”
It demands the recipient surrender as soon as possible, adding “otherwise you will be responsible for the
consequences”. In the third letter they wrote: “This is to inform you that the Islamic Emirate is aware of
your activities with the Government of England ... We will deliver justice upon you soon.”
Asylum seekers in Home Office hotels confirmed the widespread use of such fakes.
One said: “These things happen and it’s a reality. Some people even write these letters themselves in
Pashto, and since there is no way of verification, the Home Office accepts them.” He added that the
Home Office lacks the capacity to scrutinise such documents properly.
“There is no way they can read those lines. The Home Office asks them to translate and summarise the
letters and include them in applications. Most of them are fake.” A second person at a Home Office hotel
described being repeatedly contacted by a fellow asylum seeker desperate to obtain one of these letters.
The migrant, who originally entered Britain on a student visa before abandoning his university studies and
moving into a Home Office hotel, said he did not know whether the person calling him succeeded in
finding a corrupt Taliban official.
A third source acknowledged using such a letter in his own asylum application after his initial claim was
rejected because of insufficient evidence that his life was at risk in Afghanistan. Following submission of
the threatening letter, his application was approved, though he could not definitively attribute the success
of his application solely to the letter rather than other changes in his circumstances.
‘Lots of people are doing it’
“I have a close relative within the Taliban,” he said. “I called him to write me a letter threatening me with
death if I returned to Afghanistan. He wrote the letter, stamped it, and sent it back to me, which I then
used in my application.” He did not disclose the date of his arrival or when he applied for asylum, fearing
repercussions from the Home Office. He emphasised the scale of the corruption, saying: “Listen to me
– lots of people are doing it, and some of them are successful and are granted asylum and the right to
work.”
A Taliban official in Kabul acknowledged that some local Taliban members were producing these letters
without authorisation from senior leadership. A Taliban official in Kabul admitted that some local Taliban
members were selling these letters without authorisation from senior leadership.
He said: “Some mujahideen do this kind of work, but it is not legal and they face consequences if caught.”
He suggested the practice is done by low-ranking Taliban members either wanting to “help” fellow Afghans
or to supplement inadequate salaries. “I understand they mainly want to help our countrymen or they are
not being paid enough – it is a problem and plans are under way to provide better living conditions for local
officials so they stop getting involved in such practices.”
The official also added that the Taliban regime, which took full control of Afghanistan in 2021, no longer uses
letters to threaten people in any case. “We don’t need to send letters anymore – that was a tactic when we
were not the government. Now we are the government: if we are sure someone has committed an illegal act,
we can simply go to their home and arrest them.”
Threat letters from the Taliban are referenced in multiple UK asylum tribunal cases, though it is unclear
whether they were genuine or forged. One case published on the website read: “The Appellant appealed
to the First-tier Tribunal. He produced what he claimed to be a threatening letter from the Taliban, sent to
him by his family. He maintained that the garage had been raided and that the Taliban wanted the men
who worked there because they had been engaged in supporting the Afghan Army.”
Another tribunal case specifically referred to “threat letters” submitted by the applicant. The ruling said the
letters were verified by an independent expert using a researcher in Afghanistan to help confirm their
authenticity.
The Home Office said no asylum claim is approved solely on the basis of such a letter. A spokesman told
The Telegraph: “No asylum case is assessed solely on the basis of one letter. Every asylum claim is
assessed on its individual merits, and decision-makers receive thorough training to ensure all cases are
properly decided.
“A strong system of safeguards and quality checks supports this process, helping to ensure all claims are
properly reviewed and decisions are reliable. “We take any abuse of the immigration system extremely
seriously. Where there is evidence of wrongdoing, we will take firm action to challenge it and protect the
integrity of our borders.”...'
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