British lawyers lose bid to free Pakistani held by US

British human rights lawyers’ hopes of freeing a Pakistani being held without trial by United States forces in Afghanistan ended in disappointment yesterday.

London-based legal charity Reprieve, and law firm Leigh Day & Co, won a legal argument last year when they used a piece of ancient English common law to persuade the Court of Appeal in London to order the release of Yunus Rahmatullah.

They said he had been captured by British troops then handed to the Americans –and successfully argued that the UK government had the power to ask US authorities to free him.

But yesterday appeal judges cancelled the release order they made in December after being told that US authorities were not going to “play ball”.

A lawyer representing Foreign Office and defence ministers said American authorities were not prepared to transfer Rahmatullah and did not accept that they had any obligation under international law.

Judges had been told that Rahmatullah, now 29, was captured by British troops during an operation in Iraq in February 2004, then handed to US forces and moved to Afghanistan. Lawyers said that Rahmatullah, who is being held at Bagram air base, denied belonging to any terrorist organisation but admitted going to Iraq “for jihad”.