The British government spent $3.2 million on a secret legal order preventing journalists from reporting a data breach that put almost 19,000 Afghans and their families at risk, according to records obtained by The New York Times.

The breach, which happened in 2022, exposed the personal details of thousands of Afghans who had worked with British forces before the Taliban takeover in 2021.

The government, led by the Conservative Party at the time, went to England’s High Court to obtain an order barring anyone from disclosing the breach, even to the people whose lives were feared to be at risk from the Taliban as a result. Journalists were also prevented from reporting on the existence of the court order itself.

The government’s legal action began in August 2023, when journalists first asked the Ministry of Defense about the breach, and continued until the order was lifted last month. It cost the British government 2.4 million pounds, or over $3.2 million, according to information disclosed in response to a Freedom of Information request.

Government ministers involved in the decision have since defended the stringent legal order, which is known in Britain as a “super injunction,” arguing that it was necessary to protect the people whose personal details had been disclosed. As a direct result of the data breach, Britain spent at least £400 million on a secret program to relocate 4,500 Afghans to Britain.

But the government’s unprecedented use of a super injunction has intensified questions about freedom of the press in the country. The State Department’s annual publication of reports on international human rights on Tuesday criticized Britain’s record, describing “credible reports of serious restrictions on freedom of expression,” while Vice President JD Vance has also argued that free speech is under threat.