Jet bomb plotter escapes through lawfare in Pakistan

CNN:

Police in Pakistan launched a nationwide search Sunday after a man linked to a plot to blow up transtlantic airliners escaped from police custody.

Rashid Rauf, 25, who has joint British and Pakistani nationality, fled after appearing in court in Islamabad for an extradition hearing Saturday, a Pakistani police source said.

Pakistani officials refused to confirm how Rauf managed to get away but, according to widespread media reports the wanted man slipped his handcuffs and fled following his court appearance.

Two police officers who were accompanying the suspect at the time of his disappearance have been arrested and are being interrogated, the police source told CNN.

Britain is seeking Rauf's extradition for charges stemming from the 2002 murder of his uncle in the English city of Birmingham.

...

More than 20 suspects continue to be held in Britain in connection with the case.

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan last December threw out terrorism charges against Rauf.

Although the order to dismiss the charges was later suspended after the Punjab government lodged an appeal, intelligence sources in Pakistan told CNN no "concrete" evidence had emerged tying Rauf to the alleged plot.

...

I think his flight to avoid prosecution is some evidence of his guilt. This case is another demonstration of how the terrorist take advantage of the lawfare model. It is likely that much of the evidence against him is classified to protect the sources and methods of gathering it. If this guy had been picked up on a rendition and sent to Gitmo, it is very likely he would still be in custody and would be providing us with evidence on others involved in the plot.