newarksmells, I think you may be misrepresenting the situation when you say
Now that the Taliban is out of power in Afghanistan........
Recent events, especially in the south and east of the country would indicate that the Taliban are still a force to be reckoned with, allegedly supported by the weakness of Pakistan to take any action with regard to cross-border activity. At the end of April two American soldiers were killed by a group thought to consist of 800 pro-Taliban forces.
However, IMHO that does not support the case that these people would still be "at risk" if they were returned to other areas of Afghanistan.
In cases where a defendant is accused of the death of another individual, mitigating circumstances are frequently presented before the court, to "explain away" the reason why the defendant acted in the way he/she did. Whilst this often leads to a reduction in the severity of the sentence, it seldom results in a complete "Let off".
In this case, the defendants have every right to put before the Appeal court the reasons why they felt (and still feel) they were "at risk". It is then up to the judges to evaluate this evidence in support of their case. It will be interesting to read the full reasons for the Appeal Courts decision, if/when they are released. They have so far said that the trial judge made a mistake in his interpretation of the mitigating circumstances. In itself this does not make them innocent, but rather shows up once again the fallibility of the British justice system in relation to "benefit of doubt".
Joshua Rozenburg makes some interesting points in his analysis in today's DT.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...2Fnjack123.xml
I am sure that Jack Straw must regret his statement after the event
"I am utterly determined that nobody should consider that there can be any benefit in hijacking."
He ruled out the possibility of the passengers - some of whom are thought to have colluded in the hijack - remaining as asylum seekers. But more than 50 are still thought to be in the country as well as the hijackers.
Let us hope that he uses the full extent of his power to fulfill his determination!