Detained Muslim cleric Abu Qatada lashed out on Sunday at his prison conditions in Britain, complaining of harassment and abuse."I am being isolated, harassed, abused and moved from one place to another under maximum security ... I don't know when and how this is going to end," Abu Qatada wrote in a letter to the London-based Islamic Observatory Centre. He did not elaborate but said his warders strip him naked twice a month to frisk him, according to the letter, a copy of which was received by AFP. "I have to ask (the authorities) to contact my family a week in advance. Otherwise, I can't call them," added Abu Qatada, whose real name is Omar Mahmud Mohammed Othman.
"Sometimes I wish all Muslims go to jail in Britain to understand what I am talking about and see how things are run in this (Belmarsh) prison," in southeast London. Once labelled Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe, Abu Qatada is fighting a deportation order to Jordan, saying he risks being tortured back in his home country. But he suffered a blow last month when Britain's top court ruled against him, although the European Court of Human Rights has called on London to postpone its deportation until after an appeal.
Abu Qatada, who has had political asylum in Britain since 1993, is wanted in Jordan for funding a terrorist network known as Reform and Challenge (Al-Islah Wal Tahhadi) which was dismantled in 1999. Amman has repeatedly urged London to extradite him.