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British Judges to Rule on Deporting Terror Suspect Islamic Preacher Wins Battle Against Deportation from Britain
(about 4 hours later)
LONDON — Appeal judges are to determine on Wednesday whether a militant Islamic preacher wanted on terrorism charges in Jordan and depicted as an influential operative of Al Qaeda may remain in Britain after the government challenged an earlier ruling that his human rights would be violated if he was sent for trial there. LONDON — A militant Islamic preacher wanted on terrorism charges in Jordan won the latest of many legal battles to remain in Britain on Wednesday when senior appeal judges rejected a government bid to overturn an earlier ruling that his human rights would be violated if he was sent to Jordan for trial.
The case hinges on whether evidence to be used in a Jordanian courtroom was likely to have been obtained under torture, but, more broadly, the case is seen part of a long-running test of the balance between human rights and national security. The British government had challenged a ruling last November by an immigration panel that the preacher, known as Abu Qatada, would lose his right to a fair trial under European rights law if returned to Jordan. He faces a retrial there after being convicted in his absence in two bombing plots in 1999 and 2000. In recent years, he has spent much of his time in Britain either in detention or under other restrictions, resisting government efforts to deport him
Abu Qatada, a heavily bearded man of Palestinian descent in his early 50s, whose real name is Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, has fought more than seven years of legal battles with the British authorities seeking to return him to Jordan, where he faces a retrial after being convicted there in his absence in two bombing plots in 1999 and 2000. He has spent much of his time either in detention or under other restrictions. The case has hinged on whether evidence to be used in a Jordanian courtroom was likely to have been obtained under torture, but, more broadly, the legal battles are seen as part of a long-running test of the balance between human rights and national security.
In one of many twists, he was released on bail in November after an immigration appeal tribunal ruled that sending Mr. Othman to Jordan would violate his right to a fair trial under European rights law. He was later rearrested, accused of violating bail terms that included a 16-hour curfew, electronic tagging, a ban on Internet use and prohibitions on meeting some people. The police also searched his home in London when he was rearrested and said they were investigating “extremist material.” The British home secretary, Theresa May, challenged the November ruling on the ground that Abu Qatada, whose real name is Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, was a “truly dangerous” person who escaped earlier efforts to send him to Jordan by “errors of law.” But three senior appeal judges rejected Ms. May’s appeal unanimously on Wednesday. Ms. May’s office said it would continue efforts to deport the preacher.
The British home secretary, Theresa May, has challenged the November ruling on the ground that Mr. Othman was a “truly dangerous” person who escaped earlier efforts to send him to Jordan by “errors of law.” “This is not the end of the road,” a Home Office statement said, “and the government remains determined to deport Abu Qatada. We will consider this judgment carefully and plan to seek leave to appeal. In the meantime we continue to work with the Jordanians to address the outstanding legal issues preventing deportation.”
Mr. Othman, 52, a heavily bearded man of Palestinian descent, is depicted by the British authorities as an influential operative of Al Qaeda.
After his release on bail last November, he was later rearrested, accused of violating bail terms that included a 16-hour curfew, electronic tagging, a ban on Internet use and prohibitions on meeting some people. The police also searched his home in London when he was rearrested and said they were investigating “extremist material.”
At a recent court hearing, Edward Fitzgerald, representing Mr. Othman, said there was “concrete and compelling evidence” that his likely co-defendants had been tortured, invalidating their evidence.At a recent court hearing, Edward Fitzgerald, representing Mr. Othman, said there was “concrete and compelling evidence” that his likely co-defendants had been tortured, invalidating their evidence.
But James Eadie, a lawyer for the government, said there was no reason to believe that Jordanian judges would ignore constitutional provisions prohibiting “clearly and expressly the use of torture and the reliance on any statement obtained under duress, including torture.”But James Eadie, a lawyer for the government, said there was no reason to believe that Jordanian judges would ignore constitutional provisions prohibiting “clearly and expressly the use of torture and the reliance on any statement obtained under duress, including torture.”
Three senior judges are to rule Wednesday on Ms. May’s appeal. In their ruling on Wednesday, the appeal judges said the immigration panel last November “was entitled to conclude that there is a real risk that the impugned statements will be admitted in evidence at a retrial and that, in consequence, there is a real risk of a flagrant denial of justice.”
The judges said they accepted that Mr. Othman was a “very dangerous person” but argued that was not a “relevant consideration” under human rights laws.