NZ to allow in pregnant reporter who sought Taliban help

taliban

A pregnant New Zealand journalist who said she turned to the Taliban for help after being unable to return home has been granted re-entry after an outcry. Charlotte Bellis said she had flown to Afghanistan after being unab le to get an entry spot under New Zealand’s strict Covid border rules. Her story highlighted Wellington’s tough border measures which are designed to keep out the coronavirus. But others took issue with her privileged connections to the Taliban. The Taliban has been regularly criticised for brutally clamping down on women’s rights in recent months. They have been accused of arresting, torturing and even killing activists and campaigners. On Tuesday, following significant public attention around the case, the New Zealand government said they had offered a quarantine spot to Ms Bellis and set up flight arrangements. “There is a place in managed isolation and quarantine for Ms Bellis and I urge her to take it up,” Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson told reporters at a daily Covid briefing.(BBC)…[+]