Charlotte Bellis poses in a selfie with her partner Jim Huylebroek in Kabul
(Picture: AP)A pregnant New Zealand journalist who was stranded in Afghanistan by her home country’s tough Covid-19 border policy has been granted re-entry.
Charlotte Bellis said she turned to the Taliban for help after being unable to get an entry spot due to New Zealand’s tough Covid-19 border policy.
But following an outcry the New Zealand government today 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.
He said the journalist had been offered a voucher for a room.
Ms Bellis had worked as an Afghanistan correspondent for Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based news network. But she resigned in November because it is illegal to be pregnant and unmarried in Qatar.
The 35-year-old then flew to Belgium, trying to get residency in the home country of her partner, freelance photographer Jim Huylebroek, who has lived in Afghanistan for two years. But she said the length of the process would have left her in Belgium with an expired visa.
The couple decided to return to Afghanistan because they had a visa, felt welcome and from there could wage her battle to return to her home.
In her column for the New Zealand Herald, Ms Bellis, who is 25 weeks’ pregnant, said the government had last week rejected her application to return home to give birth.
“When the Taliban offers you - a pregnant, unmarried woman - safe haven, you know your situation is messed up,” she wrote.
Chris Bunny, the head of New Zealand’s quarantine system said a rare, discretionary offer was made to Ms Bellis because Afghanistan was extremely dangerous and there was a risk of terrorism. He insisted publicity surrounding the case was not a deciding factor.
“I will be returning to my home country New Zealand at the beginning of March to give birth to our baby girl,” Ms Bellis said in a statement. “We are so excited to return home and be surrounded by family and friends at such a special time.”
New Zealand officials said they would add Mr Huylebroek to Ms Bellis’s voucher if he took the same flight with her.
The Taliban have come under international criticism for repressive rules they imposed on women since sweeping to power in mid-August, including denying girls education beyond sixth grade.
The New Zealand government is expected to make an announcement on Thursday about plans for reopening of its border. The Government has signalled a phasing out hotel quarantine requirements from the end of February, after pushing the date back from mid-January after the emergence of Omicron.
