Detention of Babar; A Failure of both Politics and the Law

On 24 September 2012, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) drove the final nail in the coffin of Babar Ahmad’s 8 year fight against extradition to the US, dismissing claims that a potential life sentence at ADX Florence would amount to torture or inhuman and degrading treatment.  It also exhausts all potential remedies in the UK and European Courts. With the exception of fleeing to the Ecuadorian Embassy, the only sliver of hope that remains is a legal long shot – a private prosecution by Karl Watkins. Babar’s story is one punctuated by a number of glaring injustices, which…