British government asks US to hand over unlawfully held Bagram prisoner

The British government has asked Washington to hand over a man held by US forces in Afghanistan after the appeal court ordered a writ of habeas corpus be issued seven years after he was detained. The court ordered the writ last week after hearing that Yunus Rahmatullah was detained by UK special forces in Iraq in 2004, and then handed over to US forces who flew him to Bagram prison, north of Kabul. The court heard on Wednesday that the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence had asked the US government to transfer Rahmatullah to British custody so that he could be released. However, the US defence department replied three days later that the responsible official "is currently on travel", and that it would respond at some unspecified date in the future.

John Glaser: Britain Asks US to Hand Over Bagram Detainee