Judge rules Afghan militant has been held in Guantánamo illegally, in what lawyers say is the first such ruling in 10 years

A federal judge has found that a former Afghan militant has been held unlawfully at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, the first time in 10 years that a detainee has won such a case against the U.S. government, his lawyers said.

U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta in Washington this week entered a final order and two classified opinions in the case of Asadullah Haroon Gul, but it’s unclear if or when he’d be released. One opinion granted Gul’s petition questioning the legality of his confinement after finding he was not part of al-Qaeda, but another ruled against his second claim, finding that the end of hostilities in Afghanistan did not merit his release.

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