Detainees captured by UK forces in Afghanistan cannot currently be transferred to Afghan custody because of the risk of ill treatment, the defence secretary has said.
Philip Hammond has imposed a temporary ban on handing over suspects to Afghan forces, a High Court judge was told.
Lawyers want the court to say there is a risk that prisoners are in danger.
The application has been brought on behalf of Serdar Mohammed, who claims he was tortured in an Afghan jail.
The 24-year-old Afghan farmer said he was arrested by UK forces in April 2010 in the Kajaki district of Helmand Province.
He claimed he falsely confessed to being a member of the Taliban under torture while held at the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) facility at Lashkar Gah.
Mr Mohammed’s legal representative, Dinah Rose QC, told Lord Justice Moses in the High Court that a letter had been received from Mr Hammond stating that there were “reasonable grounds” to suspect human rights abuses were taking place.
It said: “In the light of new information which has not been disclosed or described, there are currently reasonable grounds for believing that UK-captured detainees who are transferred to Lashkar Gah would be at real risk of serious mistreatment.”
Ms Rose said the defence secretary had decided to impose “a complete moratorium”, a temporary ban, on transfers to any NDS prison.
Mr Hammond was due to oppose the application for the court declaration, but the minister’s letter stated that he would not be contending in court that UK-captured detainees could be lawfully transferred to NDS custody at present.
Afghan captives in 'torture risk' http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/64458000/jpg/_64458944_q1qr3oxw.jpg
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