Hate cleric goes free after trial in Jordan
Abu Qatada, the radical Islamic preacher deported from Britain, was found not guilty Wednesday of terrorism offences by a court in Jordan.
After spending years incarcerated in British prisons, fighting and losing an eight-year-long deportation battle, then living for 14 months in a prison cell in Jordan, the cleric was declared a free man.
A military court in the capital Amman ruled there was “insufficient evidence” against the 53-year-old, who was charged with supporting the targeting of Israeli and U.S. tourists and Western diplomats in 2000 in the “millennium plot.”
Despite the not guilty verdict, there is little prospect of Abu Qatada, who does not have a British passport, ever returning to Britain.
“The due process of law has taken place in Jordan. That is absolutely as it should be,” said Theresa May, the home secretary who headed government efforts to remove him.
“The U.K. courts here were very clear that Abu Qatada poses a threat to our national security. That’s why we were pleased as a government to remove him from the U.K.
“He is subject to a deportation order, he is also subject to a UN travel ban. That means he will not be returning to the U.K.”
But the cleric will almost certainly attempt to radicalize British Muslims from abroad
The hate preacher is likely to exploit his renewed notoriety and even paint himself as a victor over the Establishment.
Haras Rafiq of the counter-extremist think-tank, the Quilliam Foundation, said, “One of the first things I expect Abu Qatada or his representatives to do is to go onto the Internet and spread propaganda videos or posts about how he has taken on the Establishment and won.
“His old speeches may also be reinvigorated, and some of those are pretty nasty.
However, the full picture is far more complex than will be depicted by Abu Qatada and his followers, One academic said the court’s decision will, in fact, make it easier for Britain to deport extremist agitators.
The civil liberties lobby and extreme Muslims argued the U.K. could not deport Abu Qatada because he could not face a fair trial in Jordan, said Anthony Glees, professor of security and intelligence at Buckingham University.
“This judgment shows how wrong they have been, and how wrong it was to waste millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money on fighting his deportation,” he said.
“It will be much harder to make similar human rights arguments against deportation in the future.”
Prof. Glees added: “This is someone whose presence in this country — real or virtual — is not conducive to the public good.
“I hope the Home Secretary will be able to use her powers fully to keep him out and that GCHQ, the government listening post, will be able to deploy technology to block his speeches from being heard here.”