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PA/PA Wire
Image: Radical cleric Abu Qatada and UK Home Secretary Theresa May.
Extradition
UK: Approved extradition deal will see radical cleric surrendered after 20 year fight
Jordan’s parliament has approved an agreement with Britain on the extradition of suspects – including notorious radical cleric Abu Qatada who has been fighting extradition to Jordan to face terrorism charges, claiming he may be tortured there.
JORDAN’S PARLIAMENT HAS approved an agreement with Britain on the extradition of suspects wanted there, including radical cleric Abu Qatada, an MP said Wednesday.
“Parliament on Tuesday approved a treaty with Britain to help Jordan extradite suspects from Britain,” Khalil Attieh, the deputy house speaker, told AFP. “The agreement does not specifically mention Abu Qatada but it includes him and others.”
The accord needs King Abdullah II’s approval before it becomes a law.
Question of evidence obtained by torture
For the past decade Abu Qatada has been in and out of British prisons as he fights successive government attempts to deport him to Jordan, where he has been convicted of terror charges in his absence.
But on May 10, the cleric vowed to return to Jordan voluntarily if its parliament ratifies a treaty barring the use of evidence obtained by torture.
A Spanish judge once branded Abu Qatada the right-hand man in Europe of Osama bin Laden, although Abu Qatada denies ever having met the late Al-Qaeda leader.
The 52-year-old cleric, who has been resident in Britain since claiming asylum in 1993, is likely to face a retrial if he is returned to Jordan.
Guarantee for fair trial
On April 24, British Home Secretary Theresa May announced that London has signed a legal treaty with Amman giving guarantees that Abu Qatada would face a fair trial if deported.
“The agreement also includes a number of fair trial guarantees… I believe these guarantees will provide the courts with the assurance that Qatada will not face evidence that might have been obtained by torture in a retrial in Jordan,” she said.
May made the announcement a day after the Court of Appeal in London refused her permission to challenge its ruling that the radical preacher cannot be sent back to Jordan due to rights concerns.
Attieh did not say if the Jordanian parliament made amendments to the treaty before approval.
The agreement would also help London deport to Amman Walid Kurdi, a fugitive uncle of the king who was sentenced last week to 37.5 years in jail with hard labour and a massive fine on two charges of abuse of office, according to Attieh.
