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UK to deport Abu Qatada to Jordan
 The Jordanian interior minister has said British authorities would deport Muslim cleric Abu Qatada to Jordan, where he will face new trials on charges of conspiracy and terrorist bombings for which he was found guilty in absentia. Awni Yirfas, the minister, told state television on Friday night that Britain had verbally informed authorities in Amman that the cleric "will be sent back to Jordan next week". Abu Qatada would be "retried under a Jordanian law which allows persons convicted and sentenced in absentia the right to retrial once captured," Yirfas said.The countries signed an extradition agreement earlier this week. Omar Mahmood Othman Abu Omar, better known as Abu Qatada, was among 10 foreigners that British police arrested on Thursday on suspicion of posing a threat to national security in Britain. The detentions came days after British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced tough new proposals to deport Muslim extremists in the wake of the 7 July bombings in London that killed 56 people. Born in the West Bank town of Bethlehem in 1960, Abu Qatada was convicted in absentia in Jordan in 2000 on charges of conspiring to attack US and Israeli tourists during the kingdom's millennium celebrations. According to the indictment, his role was primarily to finance the terror group. Posted by: Fred 2005-08-13 |
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