Lady Hale

In a letter to The Times, she said that “now that the prisons are being thrown open” the country’s judiciary, and female judges in particular, “will be a target for revenge from the terrorists they convicted and sentenced”.

She said about 270 women had been judges. “Their position has always been dangerous and will be even more so with the Taliban in charge,” she wrote. She said they had “played a vital role in upholding the rule of law and the human rights of all Afghanis”.

Susan Glazebrook, president of the International Association of Women Judges, said the judges “are absolutely terrified and in hiding”, adding that “they are getting threatening letters from released prisoners and the Taliban are searching door to door”.

One judge said he was living in fear of “being killed by the convicted criminals who, with the help of the Taliban, broke [out of] jails and [were set] free”. 

He said in a letter to the Bar Council of England and Wales that he and his fellow judges were prominent targets for the new regime.

The judge said “the situation is gravely dangerous for judges. We live hidden, there is not any safe route to escape.”