Hamza faces US extradition after losing legal battle
Radical cleric Abu Hamza looks set to be extradited to the US after he lost his eight year legal battle against deportation this morning.
The European Court of Human Rights rejected his argument that he would face inhumane conditions across the Atlantic.
The cleric can still appeal the decision over the next three months although there is no guarantee the grand chamber will hear it.
Five other men also had their extradition rejected.
The US government accuses Mr Hamza of being in contact with terrorists before the kidnapping of western tourists in Yemen in 1998, an act which cost three British citizens their lives.
Also among the men is Babar Ahmad, a 37-year-old from Tootting who holds the unenviable distinction of being the British citizen who has spent the most time being held without trial.
He is accused of terrorist fundraisng by the US, who said he should face American justice after finding his website was hosted by a company based in Connecticut.
"Babar is a British citizen accused of a crime said to have been committed in the UK and all the evidence against him was gathered in this country. Nevertheless, British justice appears to have been subcontracted to the US," his supporters said in a statement.
"This should be immediately rectified by putting Babar on trial in the UK and ordering a full public inquiry into the matter.”
"Babar has already been imprisoned without a trial for almost eight years, something he described in his recent interview to BBC as 'the most unimaginable type of psychological torture'."
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Tags:
- extradition ,
- human rights ,
- terrorism
