Abu Qatada wins deportation appeal

UK: Terror suspect Abu Qatada, who has been dubbed Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe, will be freed on bail after British judges on Monday upheld his appeal against extradition to Jordan.

The decision is a major blow for the British government after it fought for years to deport the radical Islamist preacher to Jordan.

It vowed to challenge the decision.

Judges ruled that evidence obtained through torture could be used against Abu Qatada, a 51-year-old Jordanian of Palestinian origin, if he was sent back to face a retrial.

Abu Qatada was convicted in absentia in Jordan in 1998 for involvement in terror attacks.

The judges then announced that Abu Qatada, who has spent most of the last seven years in British jails fighting deportation, should be freed on bail on Tuesday.

Interior minister Theresa May had ordered Abu Qatada’s extradition after she was given assurances by Jordan that no evidence gained through the torture of two other men would be used against him in a retrial.

But the Special Immigration Appeals Commission -- a semi-secret panel of British judges that deals with decisions on national security -- said that could not be guaranteed.

“We are satisfied that the Secretary of State should have exercised her discretion differently and should not have declined to revoke the deportation order,” the commission said in its ruling.

“Accordingly, this appeal is allowed.”

The judges later agreed to free Abu Qatada on bail from the high-security Long Lartin jail in central England on condition that he observe a curfew for 16 hours a day and wear an electronic tag.

AFP