In September 2021, Afghan TV journalist and activist Kobra Hassani fled her country after the Taliban regained control. Recently, she returned to Kabul, where she faces the risk of being sentenced to death. According to sources in the Afghan diaspora in Russia cited by the Fontanka news site, Hassani first arrived in Ukraine after crossing the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. However, due to the Russian invasion, she attempted to move to Poland but was defrauded and taken to Russian-occupied territories before ending up in Russia after a difficult journey.
Despite her attempts at finding asylum in Europe, Hassani was eventually deported from Russia in May 2022 along with 12 others who were trying to leave illegally for a European Union country as part of a conspiracy. After applying for asylum at the end of last year, her request was rejected by Russian authorities in January. She was then sentenced to two years in prison for her crime but was eventually released after accounting for time served awaiting trial and the deportation order was lifted.
Although Hassani had other options such as seeking asylum in Albania or Germany, she did not have the resources or energy to do so according to her lawyer Maria Beliaeva of Moscow Times. It is speculated that she decided to return to Kabul because she no longer had the strength to remain in Russia and lacked confidence in being able to relocate
