British government in discussions with Jordan over radical cleric

Feb 14, 2012, 15:14 GMT

London - A senior British government official flew to Jordan on Tuesday for talks on the deportation of a radical Muslim cleric freed from a British jail after almost 10 years of detention without trial.

The government in London confirmed that senior Home Office offical James Brokenshire would seek further assurances from the Jordanian government over a fair trial for Abu Qatada, who was freed from jail late Monday.

The release of Qatada followed a ruling last month by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg that he cannot be deported to Jordan because of the risk that evidence obtained by torture might be used against him in a future trial.

Following that ruling on January 17, a Special Immigration Appeals Commission in Britain said Qatada must be freed on bail. The cleric was released from Long Lartin jail, near Birmingham, amid tough bail conditions, and is now believed to be living with his family in London.

Britain now hopes to gain assurances that future evidence to be used against Qatada in a trial will not have been 'obtained through torture,' in the hope that such assurances will satisfy the European court.

Under a so-called memorandum of understanding, Jordan has already given assurances that Qatada himself will not suffer 'mistreatment.'

'We are committed to removing him (Qatada) from the country. We want to see him deported and we are looking at all the options for doing that,' said a spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron.

Cameron made the issue one of top-level diplomacy last week when he telephoned King Abdullah of Jordan, expressing his 'frustration' with the European court ruling.

Both men agreed on 'finding an effective solution to this case, in the interest of both Britain and Jordan,' a British spokesman said.

Qatada, a Palestinian-Jordanian who came to Britain in 1993, has been described as 'al-Qaeda's right-hand man in Europe.' He was first arrested in Britain in 2002 and has been tried in absentia in Jordan for attacks on western and Israeli targets.

He was arrested and released several times, but has never been charged or tried in Britain, where the government says he poses a 'threat to national security.'

His strict bail conditions mean that Qatada is only allowed to leave his home for an hour twice a day, must wear an electronic tag and has no access to the internet, a mobile phone or a travel pass. He will also be barred from visiting mosques.

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