Extremist cleric Abu Qatada was freed from jail after a UK court ruled that he couldn't be deported to Jordan, to the fury of many government ministers. ITV's Juliet Bremner reports. By NBC News staff and wire reportsA radical Islamist cleric described by prosecutors as a key al-Qaida operative in Europe was freed from prison Tuesday after a court ruled he cannot be deported from Britain to Jordan to face terrorism charges.
The preacher was seen smiling as he was driven away from Long Lartin maximum security jail in Worcestershire, central England, in a black MPV.
Britain's government has attempted since 2001 to expel Abu Qatada, a Palestinian-born Jordanian cleric convicted in Jordan over terror plots in 1999 and 2000, but has been repeatedly thwarted by European and British courts. He has been in and out of British jails for years without charge since his arrest in 2002.
Abu Qatada won bail at a hearing Monday, when the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, which handles major terrorism and deportation cases, upheld his challenge to the decision to send him to Jordan.
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