UK: Radical Cleric Thumbs his Nose at Deportation Order

And, why not?  After all, Sharia Law takes precedence over Western Laws, so to obey a Western Court Order for deportation (signed by a *gasp* lowly infidel woman, I might add) would be considered offensive to his religion…  (I’m being sarcastic, of course, to illustrate Muzzie thinking).

Radical preacher Abu Qatada will ‘stay in country’ despite deportation order

Radical cleric Abu Qatada will stay in Britain for months despite a House of Lords ruling that he should be deported to Jordan where he faces terror charges.

By Tom Whitehead, Home Affairs Editor – Telegraph.co.uk
Last Updated: 6:26PM GMT 18 Feb 2009

The Law Lords said Qatada, dubbed “Osama Bin Laden’s right hand man in Europe”, could be sent back to Jordan where he faces terror charges after overturning a Court of Appeal decision.

But the extremist could still remain in the country for many months if he takes his case to the European Court of Human Rights.

The judgment is a victory for the Home Office in its long-running campaign to remove Qatada from Britain, which has cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds already.

The Law Lords also ruled in favour of the Government over its attempts to deport two other men to Algeria.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said a deportation order will be served on Qatada immediately.

However any attempts to remove him would be put on hold if the case goes to Europe.

Ms Smith said: “I’m delighted with the Lords’ decision today in the cases of Abu Qatada and the two Algerians ‘RB’ and ‘U’.

“It highlights the threat these individuals pose to our nation’s security and vindicates our efforts to remove them.

“My top priority is to protect public safety and ensure national security and I have signed Abu Qatada’s deportation order which will be served on him today.

“I am keen to deport this dangerous individual as soon as I can.”

In a statement, Qatada’s lawyer confirmed his intention to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

The move is likely to delay any moves to deport him for months and even years.

Gareth Peirce, from Birnberg Peirce & Partners, criticised the ruling as a “backwards step” in Britain’s willingness to confront torture.

She said the Government was sending a message that it did not object to countries’ “continuing violation of one of the most abhorrent of international crimes”.

“This judgment will pour a dose of cold water on our belief that we have indeed advanced in our willingness to confront the ugly issue of the use of torture.

“It puts into reverse the ethos created by an earlier House of Lords decision. This was a chance to reaffirm that decision, instead it is a backwards step.”

Last year, the Court of Appeal ruled that deportation would breach his human rights because evidence used against him in Jordan might have been extracted by torture and he might not receive a fair trial.

But Lord Phillips, sitting with Lords Hoffmann, Hope, Brown and Mance, said today there were no reasonable grounds for believing that Qatada would be denied the right to a fair trial in Jordan.

Qatada is currently being held in Belmarsh high security prison after an immigration court ruled last year that there was a risk he could breach his bail conditions.

Qatada has been described by Ms Smith as a “significant threat to national security”.

The 48-year-old father-of-five, who says he fears he will be tortured if returned to Jordan, was released on bail after winning his case last year, but was returned to jail in December for breaching his bail conditions. The authorities suspected he was planning to flee to the Middle East, possibly Lebanon.

Qatada, born in Bethlehem as Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, has stated that he wishes to renounce his Jordanian citizenship and return to the land of his birth.

He arrived in Britain from Jordan in September 1993 using a forged passport and claimed asylum for himself, his wife and children.

He was initially detained in 2002, when the Special Immigration Appeals Commission described him as a “truly dangerous individual”, heavily involved in terrorist activities associated with al Qaida.

The Commission said he had given religious authority to numerous high- profile terrorists across the world, including those behind the September 11 attacks.

He was later bailed, but placed under a control order. In 2005 he was arrested in preparation for his deportation to Jordan, but was again released on appeal.

Qatada has issued a series of influential fatwas from Britain in support of the killing of non-believers and a number of his videos were found in the Hamburg flat of Mohammed Atta, one of the ringleaders of the September 11 hijackers.

In 1999, he was convicted in Jordan in his absence of conspiracy to carry out bomb attacks on two hotels in Amman and providing finance and advice for another planned series of bombings. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Jordan is one of a number of countries with which the UK has signed a “memorandum of understanding” which the Home Office insists will ensure that any deported suspects will not face torture or ill-treatment.

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