Netherlands refuses to extradite al-Qaeda suspect to US
Iran Press TV
Tue Jul 23, 2013 1:33PM GMT
A court in the Netherlands has blocked the extradition of a Dutch-Pakistani al-Qaeda suspect to the United States, saying it is unclear whether American authorities had played a hand in torturing him after his arrest in 2010.
The Hague Court of Appeal ruled Tuesday "that suspect Sabir [Khan] cannot be extradited to the United States," as there remain unanswered questions about the US role in his alleged torture following his arrest in Pakistan.
"There are circumstances which raise questions about the role played by the United States in Sabir K.'s arrest in Pakistan," the court said, adding that it would be illegal to extradite him without proof that the US was not involved in his alleged torture.
The 26-year-old Khan said the US had tortured him in a Pakistani jail where he developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.
Khan has been caught in a series of court rulings in the Netherlands, where he was alternately accepted and then rejected for extradition to the US.
On April 5, a Dutch court blocked Khan's extradition to the US on grounds that Washington cannot provide comparable medical treatment for his PTSD as is available in the Netherlands.
This comes while in February, a Dutch court had ruled to allow the extradition after rejecting his lawyers' previous arguments that the United States was complicit in his torture and that his rights would be violated if he would be taken to an American jail.
A ruling in December 2012 demanded a treatment guarantee by the United States before Khan could be handed over.
Dutch prosecutors can exercise a final appeal to the country's Supreme Court.
Khan was taken into custody on September 23, 2010 in a raid on the western Pakistani city of Quetta and was flown to the Netherlands in April 2011.
The five charges against Khan include an alleged suicide bombing at an American military base in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province, which has not been proven to have ever taken place.
GMA/PR
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