D.C. Circuit Dismisses Bagram Habeas Petitions

This Christmas Eve opinion, authored by Circuit Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson for a three-judge panel composed of Judge Thomas B. Griffith and Senior Circuit Judge Stephen F. Williams, affirms the district court's conclusion that it lacks jurisdiction to hear habeas petitions brought by detainees held at Bagram Air Force Base's Parwan Detention Facility. We covered the oral arguments in these cases earlier this fall.

Since oral arguments, one petitioner, Hamidullah, was repatriated to Pakistan, and the D.C. Circuit ordered briefing on whether the transfer made his case moot. On this issue, the court remands to the district court to determine whether Hamidullah is in the "sole custody" of the Pakistani government.