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| Abu Hamza faces deportation over bigamous marriage |
| 2003-01-30 |
| ABU HAMZA AL-MASRI, the controversial imam of Finsbury Park mosque, faces possible deportation after the disclosure yesterday that his British citizenship is based upon a bigamous marriage. The Egyptian-born cleric was granted the right to remain in the UK after he married Valerie Traverso, a young Englishwoman, in May 1980. However, inquiries by The Times have established that Ms Traverso was already married, and not divorced by her first husband until July 1982. That means the marriage is void, according to family law experts, and Abu Hamza could be stripped of his citizenship. The Home Office has long been frustrated at its inability to deport the one-eyed, hook-handed imam who has spoken out in support of the September 11 attackers. Last night officials were examining the details of his bigamous marriage. Police are also expected to investigate, since bigamy is a crime punishable by up to seven yearsâ imprisonment. Scotland Yard said that officers would âcarefully investigateâ any evidence that an offence had been committed. It is unclear whether Abu Hamza, 44, is aware that his marriage was bigamous, however. He was refusing to take telephone calls yesterday, and a reporter calling at his home was turned away by a man who refused to open the door. Abu Hamza was married under his real name, Mostafa Kamel Mostafa at Westminster Register Office to Ms Traverso, a 25-year-old window dresser from Chelsea, on May 16, 1980. He has hinted in one interview that he was working as a bouncer at a Soho nightclub at the time. On the marriage certificate, however, he recorded his occupation as a hotel receptionist. Ms Traverso recorded her surname as Traversa and her marital status as âspinsterâ â even though she had been married for the previous nine years to a buildersâ labourer called Michael Macias, by whom she had two children. The records at Wandsworth County Court in South London show that that marriage did not end until July 13, 1982, when Mr Macias obtained a divorce. Under the terms of the Marriage Act 1949, Abu Hamzaâs marriage will now be considered void. Rosemary Carter, a family law specialist with London firm Hamlins, said: âIt is not a marriage at all. It is a nonsense.â The cleric has been named in a Yemeni court as the mastermind behind a bomb plot in that country, and a US grand jury is considering whether to charge him over an alleged plan to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon. Snicker, just like Al Capone got busted for tax evasion, this (alledged) terrorist may get the boot because his wife was already married. |
| Posted by:Steve |