Abu Qatada, the radical Islamic preacher once described as Osama bin Laden’s “right hand man in Europe”, will be back on the streets within days after being granted bail.
A senior immigration judge said yesterday that Qatada could be released despite even his own defence team suggesting that he posed a “grave risk” to Britain’s national security. - Qatada was granted bail by Mr Justice Mitting after the European Court of Human Rights ruled last month that he could not be deported to his native Jordan.
hi time we just ignored the rulings from these European Court of Human Rights idiots - would be great if we could move him in next door 2 them so they could either help him or he would wipe them out - of course after he dropped his spawn off 2 school he could have a nasty accident on the walk back home in which he was seriously 'deaded' in a very bloody accident involving a pig, dog and a couple of Caterpillar Hydraulic Excavators
The bail conditions will be similar to those set in 2008, with the cleric confined to his home for all but two one-hour periods each day. He will also be allowed to take one of his five children to school.
Restrictions on his movement, however, could be lifted if the Home Secretary fails to show within three months that progress is being made in negotiations with Jordan regarding his extradition.
Mr Justice Mitting, the president of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac), said yesterday: “If by the end of that, the Secretary of State is not able to put before me evidence of demonstrable progress in negotiating sufficient assurances with the government of Jordan … it’s very likely that I would consider that a continued deprivation of liberty is no longer justified.”
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The release of Qatada will intensify concerns that European courts are eroding the sovereignty of Britain’s justice system. David Cameron said after last month’s ruling that decisions by European courts were “distorting” and “discrediting” the concept of human rights.
The decision to release Qatada, a 51-year-old father of five, means he can return home and will be able to claim up to £1,000 a month in state benefits. The taxpayer will also have to foot up to £500,000 a year for his security surveillance.
Critics attacked the decision as a “disgrace”, while the Home Office warned that Qatada remained “a dangerous man” who posed a “real threat to our security”.
Charlie Elphicke, a Tory MP, said: “This is a man who is seeking to undermine our country at every turn. It is clear that Qatada should not be in this country another day.”
Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said no bail decision should “interfere with keeping our country safe”. She said Mrs May’s “foremost responsibility is the protection of the public and national security”, adding: “Abu Qatada should face terror charges in Jordan, and the Home Secretary needs to urgently accelerate discussions with the Jordanian government to make that possible.”
Qatada is being held in the high security Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire. He was described by a Spanish judge as “Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe” and Siac previously described him as a “truly dangerous individual”.
He was granted bail following a decision by the ECHR that he could not be deported to Jordan without assurances that evidence gained through torture would not be used against him. His defence argued there was therefore no realistic prospect of deportation and claimed his detention was unlawful. The Home Office argued that he should be detained while officials sought further assurances from Jordan.
Mr Justice Mitting concluded that his detention had been justified but the chances of his removal were “slimmer than they were” before the human rights ruling. He said the risks to national security and of absconding had not significantly changed from May 2008, when he last granted bail.
Qatada was recalled within six months of his release for breaching the terms of his licence.
Edward Fitzgerald QC, representing Qatada, had told the immigration judge in central London that Qatada should be released regardless of the risk he posed to national security. “However grave the risk of absconding, however grave the risk of further offending, there comes a point when it’s just too long,” he said.
Qatada is believed to have spent longer in custody “than any other detainee in modern immigration history”, according to his legal team. He arrived in Britain on a forged passport in 1993. In 1999 in Jordan, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in his absence for conspiracy to carry out bomb attacks. He was first detained in Britain in 2002, when an immigration court described him as a “truly dangerous individual”.
Tim Eicke QC, for the Home Secretary, said Qatada “should remain detained”. He was “someone who poses an unusually significant risk to the UK” and “the mere passage of time certainly hasn’t rendered it [his continued detention] unlawful”, Mr Eicke said.
He added that there was “no indication here from the appellant that he has changed his views or his attitude to the UK and the threat he poses to it”.
Qatada had also shown a “willingness to ignore the rules”, he said, even while behind bars as a category A prisoner.
Mr Justice Mitting admitted himself that in 2008 Qatada “expressed very forcefully his views direct to me” and he “has shown no inclination of any change in attitude”.
A Home Office spokesman said it had argued for the “strictest possible bail conditions” to be imposed. “This is a dangerous man who we believe poses a real threat to our security,” he said.
