[An Nahar] A British judge on Monday ordered the release on bail of radical holy man Abu Qatada, allegedly a former top aide of al-Qaeda chief the late Osama bin Laden,Osama bin Laden is dead.
He took two shots to the head.
That made him frown
and he had to lie down.
Osama bin Laden is dead.
despite government concerns he poses a security risk.
The interior ministry condemned the decision, saying the 51-year-old is "a dangerous man who we believe poses a real threat to our security and who has not changed in his views or attitude to the UK."
Britannia has been trying to deport Qatada to Jordan for the past six years but its efforts were blocked last month by the European Court of Human Rights, which said evidence against him may have been obtained through torture.
Following the European ruling, Qatada applied to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission in Britannia to be released from the high-security Long Lartin jail in Worcestershire, central England.
Lawyer Ed Fitzgerald told the commission that Qatada's detention for six and a half years while fighting deportation "has now gone on for too long to be reasonable or lawful".
"However the risk of absconding, however the risk of further offending, there comes a point when it's just too long."
But Keith Vaz, a politician who chairs parliament's Home Affairs Select Committee, said most people would be "astonished by this decision considering Abu Qatada is wanted on terrorism charges in eight countries".
"The only way to avoid the situation occurring again is a fast-tracked system in the UK and EU courts so that those who pose a threat to the British public are deported as swiftly as possible."
Judge John Mitting ruled that Qatada should be set free under "highly prescriptive terms" for the next three months.
After that the judge indicated he may release Qatada altogether unless the government had made progress in trying to deport him. "The time will arrive quite soon when continuing detention or deprivation of liberty could not be justified," Mitting said.
| Once again Europeans sit in judgment of others around the world, and impose European standards on other countries. There's an old 19th century word for that, though I can't quite remember. Hmmm, 'imper...' something... |
| More background on this joker's history here. |
The European court said however that it "finds that there is a real risk that the applicant's retrial would amount to a flagrant denial of justice" -- a violation of Article 6 of the Convention on Human Rights.
Interior minister Theresa May is now seeking assurances from Jordan that evidence gained through torture would not be used against Qatada.
| If the Jordanians aren't to be allowed to jug him, why would they want him? |
The judge said it would take "between a few days and about a week" for Britannia's domestic intelligence service MI5 to check Qatada's proposed bail address, which was not revealed in court, before he could be released.
The holy man will subsequently be under a 22-hour curfew, prohibited from using the Internet or any electronic communications and he will be electronically monitored. His visitors and movements will also be restricted.