Qatada back behind bars, but how long will it take to deport him?
HATE preacher Abu Qatada was back behind bars last night – but it could be a year or more before he is finally kicked out of Britain. Home Secretary Theresa May ordered his arrest after she secured a landmark deal which she hopes will see him sent to Jordan to face terror charges.
But Mrs May admitted it could be ‘many months’ before the fanatic is put on a plane to his home country.
Within hours of his detention, Qatada’s lawyers were demanding he be let out again on bail and making it clear that they would do everything possible to thwart deportation.
That could mean a string of further appeal hearings, adding to the £1.5million bill in legal costs and benefits
‘Clearly not welcome’
already run up by Qatada, who has links to convicted Al Qaeda terrorists. Mrs May was forced to seek the deal with Jordan following January’s ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that he would not face a fair trial if sent home. The ruling also led to Qatada’s release on bail in February.
Since then he has been at his family home in Wembley, north-west London, under strict bail conditions. The £1,900a-month rent on the house is paid through benefits, and a surveillance operation to monitor his every move cost British taxpayers £100,000 a week. Just after midday yesterday, smirking Qatada was led from his home by immigration officers and taken to a hearing of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, in Central London, which rules on terror immigration cases.
The hearing was delayed when Qatada demanded a translator, although he has lived here since 1993.
The judge, Mr Justice Mitting, said he still posed a risk of absconding and denied bail. He indicated a full hearing could be delayed until October. It is likely a further application for bail will take place within days, but last night Qatada, whose real name is Omar Othman, was in Belmarsh high security prison.
Next year will mark two decades since he first cheated his way into Britain on a fake passport, and nearly a decade since efforts began to remove him.
Yesterday’s hearing was told that the Jordanian government had agreed to ‘bend over backwards’ to ensure Qatada received a fair trial.
The deal means that if returned Qatada’s earlier conviction in Jordan, handed down in his absence, will be quashed. His new trial on terror charges will be heard in public with civilian judges, he will have full access to lawyers and will be able to summon defence witnesses.
Following the Strasbourg ruling, which said torture evidence might be used against Qatada at trial, Mrs May and other ministers embarked on a frenetic diplomatic effort to secure the deal that would make deportation possible.
Yesterday the three- month deadline set by the ECHR for an appeal passed. Without a deal, it is likely Qatada would have been let out without the strict bail conditions imposed by the court.
The decision not to appeal against the Strasbourg ruling was based on fears that the court could deliver an even worse judgment and undermine attempts to deport more than a dozen other terrorists.
Mrs May insisted it would be impossible simply to put Qatada on a plane at once as his lawyers would obtain a court order preventing deportation.
Robin Simcox, counter-terrorism expert from the Henry Jackson Society, said: ‘Theresa May deserves praise for her persistence and determination to expel Abu Qatada from the UK.
‘He is a senior jihadist ideologue and his presence is clearly not welcome in this country. Furthermore, the UK Government must, as a basic principle, be allowed the legal freedom to deport national security threats.’
Ministers insisted last night that Britain is on track to get a deal this week to curb Strasbourg’s human rights judges.
Despite suggestions that key proposals had been watered down or ditched, sources said Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke expected to secure wins on measures to protect the importance of decisions made by national courts, to make the court more efficient and consider fewer cases, and on the nomination process for judges.