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UK court rules Muslim cleric can be deported to Jordan

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] A five-judge panel of the UK's Law Lords ruled unanimously Wednesday that Islamic cleric Abu Qatada could be deported to Jordan despite fears he might be tortured upon his arrival. Qatada, accused of being one of Osama bin Laden's chief associates in Europe, faces terrorism charges in Jordan, which his lawyers say are based on evidence obtained through torture. British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said that she would try to deport Qatada as soon as possible. Amnesty International questioned the government's reliance on "diplomatic assurances" that deportation would not lead to human rights violations. Qatada's lawyers plan to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. The panel also approved the deportation of two Algerian terror suspects. The Law Lords overruled the April 2008 Court of Appeal decision blocking Qatada's deportation. Qatada was originally ordered deported in February 2007. He was expected to be one of the first terror suspects to be deported under the UK's 2005 extradition oversight agreement with Jordan.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on February 18, 2009 (boomark / email).