Dutch minister approves transfer of bomb suspect to U.S

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Netherlands' justice minister has approved the transfer of a Dutch citizen to the United States to face charges of plotting suicide attacks against American troops in Afghanistan, a spokeswoman said on Friday.

She could not say when the suspect, known as Sabir K, will be transferred to the United States where a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges was issued in June 2011.

In April, the Netherlands' highest court upheld an appeals court decision and approved the extradition of Sabir K to the United States.

Defense attorneys had argued the extradition violated European human rights laws because, they alleged, U.S. officials had tortured Sabir K. during his detention in Pakistan.

Sabir K., 24, said he was tortured, subjected to mock executions and detained in unhygienic and cold prison cells before being put on a plane to the Netherlands where Dutch authorities arrested him at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport in April, 2011.

Dutch ANP news agency said Sabir K was brought up in the Netherlands and later had lived six years in Pakistan where he was arrested in 2010.

(Reporting by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Jon Hemming)