High Court grants permission to former member of Afghan special forces to challenge ‘ARAP’ refusal

Wilson Solicitors are acting in a judicial review challenging the Ministry of Defence’s refusal under ARAP to relocate a former member of the Afghan special forces to the UK.

Permission has been granted to bring judicial review proceedings on all grounds of the Claimant’s challenge to the Ministry of Defence’s refusal to relocate him under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Program (ARAP). The Claimant served in the ‘Triples’, the elite Afghan special forces units specialising in counter terror operations. ARAP applications made by those who served in the Triples have been subject to a Ministry of Defence internal review after it came to light that the Ministry of Defence had refused thousands of valid applications. However, the Claimant waited over two years for the Ministry of Defence to conduct a review of his case, before the decision to refuse his relocation under ARAP was upheld. The Ministry of Defence also informed the Claimant in 2025 that his personal details were included in the Ministry of Defence’s 2022 data breach. He remains at risk in hiding in Afghanistan. The case will now proceed to a full hearing at the High Court.

Maeve Fennelly is acting for the Claimant, instructing counsel Ella Gunn, Emma Fitzsimmons and Grainne Melon of Garden Court Chambers.

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