An Afghani man who has been wanted for years by Danish police in connection with a murder case is now calling on the Danish government to help him escape the Taliban.
The Afghan, who has a permanent residency permit in Denmark, fled the Scandinavian country several years ago after being accused of involvement in a murder. He has been wanted by Danish police ever since.
Two weeks ago, the man allegedly reached out to Danish lawyer Rasmus Sølberg, asking for help to come back to Denmark, as he fears for his life under the Taliban, Danish newspaper B.T. reports.
“He fears for his life. If the Taliban catches him, he fears they will kill him. It may well be that their statements are softer than when they were in power last time, but they are not happy with people with Western connections,” lawyer Sølberg told the newspaper.
The Afghan also denies having been involved in the murder, claiming: “It was not a planned killing, so I did not take part in it. I was unfortunately in the store where the killing happened.”
“The man who was killed belonged to a very dangerous grouping that commits organized crime and extortion of people who have legal occupations, such as kiosks, greengrocers pizzeria, and small shops. The killing happened in one of the shops the gang used to threaten and extort money from,” the Afghan alleged.
According to the Afghan, he fled not from the police but from gang members in Denmark, but he now fears the Taliban may kill him.
In the wake of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, many fear that it could lead to a new surge in migrants not seen since the height of the migration crisis in 2015.
Earlier this week, Greek migration minister Notis Mitarakis stated that he would not allow his country to once again become a gateway for migrants trying to reach Western Europe.
“We are clearly saying that we will not and cannot be the gateway of Europe for the refugees and migrants who could try to come to the European Union,” he said.
“We cannot have millions of people leaving Afghanistan and coming to the European Union… and certainly not through Greece.”
Some have predicted that as many as three million Afghans could try and head for Europe in the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan.