[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit lifted a stay [order, PDF] Thursday on the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainee Ahmed Belbacha [BBC profile] to Algeria. The court instead put Belbacha's appeal on an expedited schedule. Belbacha is appealing a district judge's decision [AP report] to deny his motion to stay his transfer to Algeria.

Belbacha filed the motion [JURIST report] Monday because he says that he will be tortured and perhaps killed if returned to Algeria. His lawyers have asked for help from the UK, where Belbacha lived for three years, but British officials will only intervene in cases involving British citizens. SCOTUSblog has more.