Yemen has renewed its request to the British authorities to extradite Abu Hamza Al-Masri to face charges related to several terrorist activities in Yemen. According to ITV, the written request came as Abu Hamzaâs solicitors vowed to fight a bid by British Home Secretary David Blunkett to strip him of his British citizenship as a prelude to deportation to Egypt, where he was born. Yemenâs request includes documents alleging that the north London cleric was involved in a 1998 kidnap of tourists by the so-called Islamic Jihad, which was then known as the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army of Aden. A rescue attempt by government forces then resulted in the death of four westerners, including three Britons. However, nothing was mentioned about assurances that Abu Hamza will not be tried and executed if found guilty. British officials said that âIt is standard practice never to confirm whether a request has been received.â As a general rule, requests linked to charges which might lead to capital punishment are accepted only if a written assurance is given by the country involved that the death penalty will not be imposed. It is believed that the Yemeni paperwork issued yesterday in the capital Sanaâa has not yet been received in the UK.
| Oh, c'mon. Make an exception. Maybe they'll lop his head off, and he can get another hook to replace it... |
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