49 people have reportedly lost family members or colleagues after the UK government leaked details of 19,000 Afghan citizens who helped the British military during the Afghan war.

A spreadsheet containing the details of people who had worked for the UK government in Afghanistan was accidentally leaked from the Ministry of Defence in February 2022 — six months after the Taliban seized control of Kabul.

The death threats and intimidation by the Taliban continue, as research shared by the charity Refugee Legal Support reveals.

It makes for pretty harrowing reading.

“I have suffered serious harm as a result of the Afghan data breach. My personal car was taken, and our home has been searched multiple times. My father was brutally beaten to the point that his toenails were forcibly removed, and my parents remain under constant and serious threat. My family and I continue to face intimidation, repeated house searches, and ongoing danger to our safety.”

“[The data breach] has intensified the threats against my family and made them a target, exposing them to being killed without excuse by the terrorist group (Taliban) that rules Afghanistan.”

“Following the recent data leak, the Taliban searched my family home and continue to threaten my relatives. One of my family members is still under their pressure, and they question my family about me every day.”

Only a minority of those affected by the breach had been offered relocation to the UK.

Can data leaks do real harm? Yes, they can. And so can a failure to respond appropriately.

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