8 November 2012

Judgment in the case concerning Yunus Rahmatullah

On 31 October 2012, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (UK) rendered a decision in Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and another (Appellants) v Yunus Rahmatullah (Respondent), Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and another (Respondents) v Yunus Rahmatullah (Appellant). The case concerns the obligations of the UK vis-à-vis Yunus Rahmatullah, who had been handed over by the UK to the United States (US) and who arguably was treated by the US in violation of the Geneva Conventions.

The earlier decision of the Court of Appeal, that had granted the writ of habeas corpus, was upheld by the Supreme Court. The decision by the Court of Appeal was commented on at: http://dev.sharesproject.nl/obligations-of-the-uk-in-respect-of-a-pakistani-national-detained-by-the-us-in-afghanistan/.

Source: Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and another (Appellants) v Yunus Rahmatullah (Respondent), Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and another (Respondents) v Yunus Rahmatullah (Appellant), Appeal Judgment, UK Supreme Court, 31 October 2012, [2012] UKSC 48

15 December 2011

Obligations of the UK in respect of a Pakistani national detained by the US in Afghanistan

At Lawfare, Robert Chesney notes an decision of the UK Court of Appeals (Civil Division) of 14 December that raises interesting questions of shared responsibility. The case is Yunus Ramhmatullah v. Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs et ano. The Court, by an opinion of the Master of the Rolls, held that a Pakistani man (Yunus Rahmatullah) held by the US military in Afghanistan may pursue a habeas corpus petition against the UK’s Secretary of State for Defence and for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. (more…)