Judges put temporary ban on Afghan prisoner transfers But the Ministry of Defence had planned to resume activities in October after concluded it was now safe to do so. That was put on hold after lawyers for Serdar Mohammed lodged papers with the High Court for the judicial review on whether the risk of torture remained. Lord Justice Moses and Mr Justice Simon yesterday imposed an interim injunction on transfers until the judicial review application can be heard in full on November 27. Dinah Rose QC, representing Mr Mohammed, argued that there was a real risk of torture if detainees were handed over to the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) - the Afghan intelligence service. She said her client had been tortured and that the Defence Secretary's evidence that transfers may now safely take place was "highly contentious." Lord Justice Moses said: "It seems to me that that which caused the Ministry of Defence to impose a moratorium raises the very question that justifies imposition of interim relief." Mr Justice Simon agreed but stressed the court had not reached a conclusion on the ultimate merits of Mr Mohammed's case. The judges said the court had taken into account the fact that UK forces were having to detain an increasing number of suspect insurgents who could not be handed over to the Afghan authorities, among them those who engaged in "organised disobedience." Lord Justice Moses said the court understood the UK military's concern that the moratorium "substantially undermines" the resources available to the UK and "damages the wider effort in fighting the insurgents." Mr Mohammed was detained by British troops in April 2010 while, he claims, he was irrigating his family's fields in northern Helmand province. The British held him for three months before transferring him to the NDS. He claims he was beaten by NDS guards before signing a "confession" that he was a member of the Taliban and was sentenced to 16 years in prison after a trial lasting 15 minutes. Solicitor Richard Stein, who represented Mr Mohammed, said afterwards: "We are relieved the ring has been held until trial and the serious breaches of justice and risk to those being held by British forces in Afghanistan will be held until after the trial of this case." A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "The temporary hold on the transfer of UK-captured detainees to the Afghan National Directorate of Security will remain in place until the Court has had an opportunity to review all evidence and conduct the Serdar Mohammed Judicial Review. The review will commence on 27 November 2012. It would be inappropriate to comment further until the outcome is known.