Abu Qatada deported from UK, arraigned in Jordan

[Punch]

Radical cleric Abu Qatada has appeared in court in Jordan after being deported from the UK.

His plane left RAF Northolt at 02:46 BST for his home country, where he was formally charged with terror offences, which he denied.

Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "delighted" at his removal.

Abu Qatada was first arrested in the UK over alleged terror connections in 2001. He was rearrested in 2005, when attempts to deport him began.

The Palestinian-Jordanian cleric's deportation was finally able to proceed after the UK and Jordan signed a treaty agreeing that evidence obtained through torture would not be used against him.

Home Secretary Theresa May said she was glad that the government's determination to remove him had been "vindicated".

"This dangerous man has now been removed from our shores to face the courts in his own country," she said.

She added that she wanted to streamline such deportation processes in future.

"I am also clear that we need to make sense of our human rights laws and remove the many layers of appeals available to foreign nationals we want to deport.

"We are taking steps – including through the new Immigration Bill – to put this right."

Changes to the bill would affect cases like Abu Qatada's, she said, and also cases in which people facing deportation claim they have a right to respect for their private and family life in the UK, as set out in article eight of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Mrs May said she hoped to reform the convention, and would not rule out the possibility of the UK withdrawing from it altogether.

"Nothing is off the table," she said.

"We're working on that at the moment," the home secretary told the BBC, adding that the Conservative manifesto for the 2015 general election would "set out clearly what we would do in relation to these issues".

Abu Qatada was accompanied on the flight of around five hours by six people from Jordan, comprising three security officials, a psychologist, a medical examiner and his Jordanian lawyer, the BBC understands.

The 53-year-old had been held at Belmarsh prison in south-east London, from where a convoy of three police vehicles left at midnight.

After arriving at Jordan's Marka military airport he was driven in a green SUV, escorted by a 12-car convoy, to the sealed off state security court in Amman.

Military prosecutors charged him with conspiracy to carry out terrorist acts – relating to a plot to bomb American and Israeli tourists during Jordan's millennium celebrations.

The cleric was remanded in custody for 15 days and taken to eastern Jordan's Muwaqqar prison, a judicial official said.

After the hearing his lawyer Tayseer Diab said: "The attorney general interrogated him today, and he directed a series of accusations towards him – he accused him of conspiracy to take part in terrorist acts.

"My client denied all the allegations, and he asserts that his return to Jordan was out of his own free will, in order to be with his family. The procedure was carried out well, and he received good treatment."

Speaking outside the court, Abu Qatada's father Mahmoud said: "His spirits are high and the officials are good people – they might allow him to obtain bail after a few days."

BBC home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani said Home Office officials were "incredibly relieved" after "one of the most tense weeks in the department's recent history".

"They were so concerned about the possibility that the cleric could change his mind at the last minute that they were leaving nothing to chance."



The Punch