Organizations ask US to grant emergency visas to refugee Afghan journalists / Villamedia
Frans Oremus — Friday 12 August 2022, 17:44 | 0 comments, Join the conversation
Under the umbrella of the Committee to Protect Journalists, Free Press Unlimited (FPU) has appointed Anthony Blinken as US Secretary of State. requested To quickly assist refugee Afghan journalists – many of whom have migrated to Pakistan – with exit visas.
Together with several other organizations, Free Press Unlimited was able to accommodate around 200 Afghan journalists in safe houses in Pakistan. But according to the FPU’s Jantine van Herwijnen, their situation – a year after leaving Afghanistan – is still precarious. ‘We are trying behind the scenes with these organizations to see where we can put them, but we can’t give them any hope. It is governments who create the criteria for who can and cannot travel. Hence this request to the US Government.’
According to Van Herwijnen, a judge recently ruled that except for the two fixers, the Dutch government does not have to bring them to the Netherlands. ‘A total of 27 Afghan journalists were transferred to the Netherlands.’
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