[JURIST] A UK judge on Wednesday ruled that Yunus Rahmatullah [JURIST news archive], a Pakistani man held and detained for 10 years by UK and US forces in Afghanistan, could take legal action against the UK. The British Defense Ministry [official website] denied involvement with the case, arguing that the British courts did not have jurisdiction to try the issue since Rahmatullah was held in US custody during the 10 years of his detention. However, the judge determined that UK courts could not abdicate the responsibility of weighing in on such an issue.

Yunus Rahmatullah, a citizen of Pakistan, was arrested by British forces in 2004 and was subsequently transferred to US officials who held him at Parwan prison without charges or trial for several years. The UK Court of Appeal [official website] had granted a writ of habeas corpus to Rahmatullah in 2011, reasoning that Rahmatullah’s detention was unlawful. It also held that, because he was captured by British forces, the UK judicial system has jurisdiction over his case. However, US officials failed to comply with the ruling despite acknowledging that Rahmatullah was not a security threat, and the order was subsequently canceled. The judges concluded that the order to cancel the habeas ruling was lawful because US authorities believed Rahmatullah’s detention was lawful and were therefore unwilling to release the detainee to UK authorities. The Supreme Court of the UK [official website] quashed [JURIST report] a request for release of Rahmatullah in October 2012.