Our Social Impact
Pro Bono: Supporting access to justice in a time of crisis
Sulha Alliance: Assisting Afghan translators and their families seeking UK shelter
The Sulha Alliance was co-founded by former army officer Ed Aitken to support Afghan interpreters who worked alongside British forces in Afghanistan. The idea for the charity came about after Ed met up with one of his former interpreters who had managed to make it to the UK, and he highlighted the struggles that he and his fellow interpreters and their families were going through.
Ed decided to do something about their plight and initially formed a loose-knit support community for the interpreters to try to understand the issues they were facing, and to then lobby for change through the media and political contacts. The ultimate goal of Sulha Alliance was to help Afghan interpreters and their families resettle in the UK.
However, when Kabul fell to the Taliban last year, demand for support increased significantly — the number of people seeking help from the alliance increased dramatically, from around 300 to more than 1,200 interpreters and family members.
Ed realised that incorporating Sulha Alliance as a charity would aid its fundraising efforts and assist it in helping more people escape Afghanistan. He was aided in this process by Charles Russell Speechlys acting on a pro bono basis.
“They were operating more as an informal organisation rather than a charity, so we helped them formalise their structure and constitution and we helped them to apply for registration with the Charity Commission, which is never straightforward,” says Penelope Byatt, Associate, who advises charities and not-for-profit organisations on a wide range of constitutional and governance matters.
Vital support
Ed says it is vitally important the charity continues to help interpreters who are still stuck in Afghanistan and are trying to get out, in addition to those who have managed to make it to the UK and are desperately trying to get their family members out. “There are clauses within the UK government policy on resettlement that say in exceptional circumstances, those who are in particular danger are eligible to bring their wives and their children out, but not other family members. Sadly, the reality is that all of them are in a situation where their mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters are also at risk because of their employment with the British forces.”
“The Firm helped us to incorporate and operate as a fully functioning charity and that has enabled us to raise funds and provide legal support for those who are trying to get their family members, or indeed themselves out of Afghanistan.”
Ed Aitken, Co-founder, Sulha Alliance
Immigration team assist Afghan asylum seeker case
In addition to the Firm's work for Sulha Alliance, our Immigration team has also been providing legal support to help Afghan families attempting to leave the country following the fall of the Afghan government and the US’ withdrawal.
In late 2021, an urgent case was referred to our Firm of a senior translator who had worked for the US and UK militaries for over a decade. Our lawyers spent many pro bono hours working to organise a skilled worker visa for her husband to ensure his guaranteed passage to the UK and that of his entire family.
Ultimately the sponsor company pulled out and the visa never went ahead, but the initial work carried out by Charles Russell Speechlys Partner and Head of Immigration, Rose Carey and Paralegal Ilze Jacobs secured vital visas for the family to travel to Pakistan.
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