Federal judge denies Afghan's bid to fight detention

By Frederic J. Frommer Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge has turned down an Afghan man's plea to challenge his confinement at a U.S. air base in Afghanistan. U.S. District Judge James S. Gwin ruled Tuesday he lacks jurisdiction to hear the case. Zia-ur-Rahman says in court papers he's been detained at Bagram Airfield since 2008, when the U.S. military captured him during a raid on his home. Zia-ur-Rahman sought to challenge what he called his "illegal arrest and detention" in U.S. courts. Gwin said a 2010 federal appeals court decision denied that right to three foreigners detained at Bagram in a case "nearly identical" to Zia-ur-Rahman's. In that case, the court ruled that detainees at Bagram can't use U.S. courts to challenge their imprisonment the way detainees at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have. Published: Thu, Jun 28, 2012