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Britain
Abu Qatada may take a trip
2006-05-10
LONDON - Radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada, once described as Osama bin Laden’s “right-hand man in Europe”, has no grounds to stay in Britain and should be deported to his native Jordan, a court heard on Tuesday.

Qatada, who began an appeal Tuesday against a British government decision to return him to Jordan, is said to have widespread connections to Al Qaeda and other extremist Islamist groups and people in Algeria, Egypt and Pakistan. Britain claims the 44-year-old, who was born Omar Mahmud Mohammed Othman, is a risk to national security and his continuing presence is “not conducive to the public good”.
"And he's ucky."
But he claims that to return him to the Middle East kingdom, where he has been convicted in his absence of terrorist-related offences, would breach his human rights because he could be ill-treated or tortured. He also claims he would not face a fair trial and could face the death penalty.
He'd be no worse off than any other scum-sucking, murderous hard boy in a Jordanian prison and court. What's the problem?
But lawyer Ian Burnett, representing the British government, told the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), in central London, that the Amman government had given “crystal clear” assurances he would not be at risk.
They won't use anything bigger than a #4 truncheon.
The two countries signed a so-called memorandum of understanding (MoU) last year in which Jordan guaranteed to respect his human rights. Setting out the government’s case to dismiss the appeal, Burnett argued that those assurances were sufficient to allow his return and Qatada had not proved his case that he was at “real risk” of personal harm.

Burnett admitted that the memorandum, which has been criticised as “incompatible with international human rights law”, was “not, strictly speaking, a document that is legally binding in international law”. But he insisted “its letter and its spirit will be given effect”, saying it would be “extraordinary” if the Jordanian government did not keep its pledge to uphold Qatada’s human rights.
It's an agreement between two governments. The Jordanians promise not to execute him or thump him too hard. How is that incompatible with human rights law?
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg had also never, in principle, rejected the assurances made in such a document when considering similar deportation cases, he added. “The appellant (Qatada) has produced no evidence that the government of Jordan signed the MoU in bad faith or that it no longer wishes to honour the undertakings contained in it,” the lawyer said.

Amman also confirmed Qatada would not face the death penalty if convicted at any retrial, which would be fair, he added.

The hearing was told that Qatada, who was not present, had ”long-established connections” with Al Qaeda’s spiritual head Osama bin Laden, its “number two”, Ayman Al Zawarhiri, and Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, the network’s leader in Iraq. Videos of Qatada’s sermons were also found in the Hamburg flat of Mohammed Atta, the presumed ringleader of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

He was also said to be involved in fundraising and providing ”spiritual advice and religious legitimacy for terrorist activity” by individuals and terrorist groups both in Britain and abroad.

Lawyer Edward Fitzgerald, for Qatada, argued it was “strongly suspected” that evidence the government relied upon was extracted under torture.
Strongly suspected by who?
One of those said to have been tortured for information about Qatada was Jamil el-Banna, a British resident who has been held in US custody Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 2002.
Said by him, of course, and we all know Jamil wouldn't lie 'bout nuttin'.
Qatada has been in custody since August last year as part of a crackdown by the British government on hardline Islamists in the wake of the July 7 attacks on London that killed 56, including the four Islamic extremist suicide bombers.
Posted by:Steve White

#5  Ah, so the west is decadent and evil, and the Arab states are the Holy land of Allah. Seems to me ole Abu would be screaming to get back home.....
Posted by: mcsegeek1   2006-05-10 09:54  

#4  "Â…would breach his human rights because he could be ill-treated or tortured. He also claims he would not face a fair trial and could face the death penalty."

Ironic how the usual piss and moan rhetoric about their adopted country is suddenly shelved and replaced by a plead for “human rights” when faced with the prospect of going back to their native country.
Posted by: DepotGuy   2006-05-10 09:29  

#3  BOFM---add to the RB dictionary, heh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2006-05-10 09:23  

#2  he went absolutely box-of-frogs mental
heh heh, that's a keeper.
Posted by: 6   2006-05-10 07:14  

#1  Any Brits see the South-East Today prog where they got this guy outside his house [post 9/11] and asked him some searching questions about his stay in the UK - he went absolutely box-of-frogs mental and threatened to murder all present and chased one reporter down the street whilst screaming Allan Akbar... Islamonazis do make great TV.
Posted by: Howard UK   2006-05-10 03:47  

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