My first thought was "what in Heaven's name was the CO of the Royal Air Force being detained for?"

Then, after a quick scan at the OP, I realized both that my question ended in a preposition (poor form that) and the the RAF being addressed was what I always called Baader-Meinhoff.

Why that cretin should be released escapes me -- pardon the pun. Either you believe him to be a murdering thug, in which case you err on the side of caution and keep him jailed OR you believe him to be a revolutionary, in which case you must acknowledge that he lost his bid for power -- and the price for that is well known.

Neither view suggests this reject should ever need to see the outside of a cell again. On the other hand, if they'd really like to commute his sentence, I could suggest this....

Release him in the middle of the Eglund AFB swamps where our spec-forces folks train. Give him 24 hours and let the SEALS loose. If he can make it off the base he's free.

Then all we have to do make some popcorn and watch the predator footage.