US deports 20 Afghans and Iranians to Central African Republic
Why it matters: Lawyers say one Afghan had court-ordered protection from removal to Afghanistan over Taliban threats.
The United States deported dozens of people to the Central African Republic on Saturday, including 12 Afghans and eight Iranians, according to Human Rights First. Among them was an Afghan man in his early 20s whose lawyer said a U.S. judge had barred his deportation to Afghanistan because he faced possible Taliban persecution. Court documents cited by his lawyer, Alma David, say the man’s family received Taliban threats because his brothers supported the U.S. military. One brother now lives in the United States after serving in the Afghan National Army, and another was a U.S.-trained pilot who was killed by the Taliban. The flight landed in Bangui and was the second such removal to the country since June.