A notorious London-based imam—described by U.S. officials as Osama bin Laden's principal "ambassador" in Europe—may soon be back on the streets because Britain's highest court has struck down an anti-terror law allowing him to be detained without trial. The preacher, known as Abu Qatada, has been held in a British prison for more than two years.Abu Qatada, whose real name is Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, was arrested and detained by British police in October 2002 under an antiterror law enacted by Tony Blair's government in the wake of the September 11 attacks. The new law, which was strongly backed by Bush administration officials, enabled British authorities to detain—without formal criminal charges—foreign citizens suspected of using the United Kingdom as a base to foment or plot terrorism.
But late last year, in a development that got little attention in the United States, Britain's highest court, the House of Lords appeals committee, struck down the law, declaring that it violated the European Human Rights Convention by discriminating against foreigners.