10/05/2012

Qatada Loses Appeal Against Deportation

Judges at the European court of human rights have rejected an appeal by Abu Qatada against his extradition.

Home Secretary Theresa May is now to make a fresh attempt to deport the cleric to Jordon.

May said: "I am pleased by the European court's decision. The Qatada case will now go through the British courts. I am confident the assurances we have from Jordan mean we can put Qatada on a plane and get him out of Britain."

A panel of five human rights judges ruled that the radical Islamist cleric's lawyers, and not May, were right to claim that his appeal against deportation, lodged at 11.13pm on Tuesday 17 April, had been made within the three-month time limit.

But his appeal to the grand chamber that there was a risk he would be tortured if he was sent back to Jordan was rejected without any reasons being specified. Appeals are normally rejected if they do not raise a sufficiently serious new issue or legal question.

The decision on his appeal lifts the legal block on the home secretary's attempts to deport Qatada to Jordan to face trial on terrorist conspiracy charges.

(H)


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