Terror suspect may not be extradited to the US, Dutch court rules

justice courts legal systemA court in Rotterdam has ruled that Dutch terrorism suspect Sabir K may not be extradited to the US to face charges.

K’s lawyer had argued that more clarity is needed about the role of the CIA secret service in K’s arrest and torture in Pakistan.

K is wanted in the US in connection with a conspiracy to attack US military personnel in Afghanistan. The 26-year-old was arrested in Pakistan in 2010 and sent back to the Netherlands eight months later, where he was arrested on his arrival.

He claims to have been tortured while being held in Pakistan and says the US authorities knew about this.

The Rotterdam court said a recent letter from the US authorities about the case stated the US had not requested K’s arrest. However, ‘the CIA’s involvement in the arrest cannot therefore be ruled out,’ the court said.

This is the second time K’s extradition has been halted. The first was in July 2013, when the appeal court called for more information about potential US involvement.

The Netherlands and the US have signed an extradition treaty but the US and Pakistan have not. News agency ANP reported at the time of the original trial that the US asked the Netherlands to extradite K well before he was deported home.

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