You really have to wonder if most of Europe has a death wish...
LONDON - A radical cleric once described as "Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe" was freed from a British prison to live under virtual house arrest on Monday after a court ruled that his detention without trial was unlawful.
The Jordanian preacher known as Abu Qatada must wear an electronic tag to allow the police to keep track of him, spend 22 hours a day at his family home and is banned from using the Internet and mobile phones.
Twice convicted in his absence in Jordan of involvement in terrorist plots, Britain says he is still a national security risk and should be deported before London hosts the Olympic Games in July and August. Britain says videotapes of his sermons were found in a German apartment used by three of the people who carried out al Qaeda's September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Qatada was released from the high-security Long Lartin prison in central England on Monday night, a source familiar with the case said. The government declined to comment. Television pictures showed him being driven out of the prison in a van.
The 51-year-old, whose real name is Omar Othman, has been in and out of jail since he was first detained without charge under British anti-terrorism laws in 2002.
Under strict bail conditions, he will only be allowed out of the house for two hours each day and visitors must vetted. Qatada cannot go to mosques or lead prayer sessions. His bail papers say that if he bumps into a friend in the street, he must "after any initial greeting, disengage himself from the situation whether by explaining the terms of his bail order or by making an excuse."
The European Court of Human Rights ruled last week that his detention without charge was unlawful and that Britain must not send him to Jordan. Seven European judges ruled that Qatada would not receive a fair trial in Jordan because evidence against him may have been obtained using torture.
His case has been a thorn in the side of successive British governments. Prime Minister David Cameron, under pressure from some in his Conservative Party to stand up to Europe, said last week it was "completely unacceptable" that Britain can not detain Qatada or deport him.
So deport him. You could offer him a choice: Jordan or Ice Station Zebra.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/14/2012 00:00 ||
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#7
Send him on a plane anywhere the Euro Court of Human Rights approves of, only to have the plane meet with an unfortunate water landing that leaves no trace.
#10
He gets 24/7 police protection, presumably to stop him from being taken out by non-Muslim "radicals"
There is no indication that this is going to happen but they are going to waste all that money on police resources at the same time they are cutting back on the NHS.
#11
Not that strange at all Besoeker. You see at night Allan is dumb and blind and can't see his followers feasting and drinking during a fast, or reading (and doing who-know-what) with a proscribed book.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
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trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
