Human Rights Court Blocks Terror Suspect's Extradition to U.S.

His paranoid schizophrenia might get worse in super-max

The European Court of Human Rights told the U.K. not to extradite a terror suspect to the U.S. because detention in a "super-max" prison might exacerbate the man's paranoid schizophrenia.

Extradition would constitute ill treatment because of Haroon Aswat's medical condition, the ECHR in Strasbourg, France, said in a ruling today. Aswat, who is currently detained in a U.K. high-security psychiatric hospital, has been indicted in the U.S. on charges he conspired to establish a jihad training camp in the country.

"There is a real risk that the applicant's extradition to a different country and to a different and potentially more hostile prison environment would result in a significant deterioration in his mental and physical health," the court said in a judgment published on its website today.