Adam Fresco, Crime Correspondent
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Abu Hamza al-Masri, the radical Muslim cleric, has lost his High Court fight against extradition to the US, where he faces terror-related charges. Two judges ruled yesterday that the decision to extradite was “unassailable”.
Egyptian-born Abu Hamza, 51, from West London, who has hooks on both partially amputated arms, is serving a seven-year jail term for stirring up racial hatred and inciting followers to murder nonbelievers.
The US authorities want him to stand trial for allegedly attempting to set up an al-Qaeda training camp in Bly, Oregon.
He could face a total of 11 terrorism charges, including sending money and recruits to assist the Taleban and al-Qaeda.
Sir Igor Judge and Mr Justice Sullivan, sitting at the High Court in London, gave his lawyers 14 days to apply for leave to make a final appeal to the House of Lords after dismissing his case.
Senior district judge Timothy Workman ruled at Westminster Magistrates’ Court that Abu Hamza, currently held at Belmarsh top security prison in southeast London, could be extradited, and in February this year Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, gave the final approval.
The High Court judges said that they had reached the “clear conclusion that the order made by Judge Workman was properly made, and that the subsequent decision of the [Home Secretary] was unassailable”.
Abu Hamza’s lawyers had argued that extradition was unlawful because he would be tried in the US “on the basis of the fruits of torture”.
They said that there was clear evidence that torture was used on some individuals in the process of gathering the information that led to the US extradition request.
They also contended that it would be “unjust and oppressive” to extradite because of the passage of time and incompatible with Abu Hamza’s human rights. They said that any further trial should take place in London. The judges rejected all the arguments.
The judges ruled that none of the material used by US authorities “carries anything of the smell of the torture chamber sufficient to require its exclusion in a trial in this country”.
Listed at the High Court in London under his real name, Mostafa Kamel Mostafa, Aby Hamza was the first person to be arrested under the streamlined Anglo-American extradition treaty when police raided his home in May 2004. It is alleged that he assisted a gang of kidnappers in Yemen who abducted a party of Western tourists in 1998.
Valerie Fleming, who married Abu Hamza in 1980 and divorced him in 1984 after giving birth to his son, told The Times: “Good. I am glad his attempt to overturn this has failed.”
She added: “He should face charges in the States because he has obviously become a very bad man.”
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Get rid of him and his parasitic sons.
Anne, Liverpool,
The left wing labour lunatics caused all of this.
Deport him and his Rabble Immediately.
What are waiting for.?
Rick, Newcastle, UK
how ironic that this man wanted to kill us all because of our laws, and customs and now wants to use them in his defence to save his sorry behind. Get rid of him and let's hope he ends up in some prison in the deep south somewhere; they'll know just how to look after him.
mike, sheffield,
First,the photo of Abu Hamza in the Nov 07 article reveal he has a mark in the centre of his forehead,likewise,the photo of Abu Quatada reveals a mark in the centre of his forehead, also. What are those marks?It would be wrong to extradite Abu Hamza & inhumane - disabled with no hands & half blind.
Joan Moira Peters, Whangarei UK Citizen, temp o/seas in New Zealand
shez, yeah and we're the only ones in the history of the planet who's ever done anything wrong, n'est-ce pas ?
M Nolan, saratoga, new york, usa
Re: Abu Hamza. I can assure you that this gentleman
will receive all of the legal protection any other person in this country would get, with a defense attorney, and a jury of citizens which will be more than just. Any evidence that the judge decides was produced by torture would not be admissabl
Kenneth B. Smith, P.E., Wilmington, DE, U.S.A.
I wouldn't hold your breath, the decision will probably be overturned and at the taxpayers expence.
James, Stockton on Tees, UK
Surely we could have done a deal to swap the terrorist suspects in the US government for him? Abu Hamza fought alongside the Americas in Afghanistan fighting the Russians. 'Fair weather friends' springs to mind. The US now has their pantomine trophy middle eastern villain to parade around.
Ben, London, UK
Richard Mullens, you refer to Galloway as if he was Churchill or something. George Galloway met with and revered Saddam Hussein, who I probably have to remind you, committed one of the last genocides of the 20th Century. A supposed social-democrat fraternising with a totalitarian dictator, um.
charlie, manchester, uk
Brown and Smith. Which elements of the following statements are you having difficulty in understanding?
WE DO NOT WANT ABU HAMZA IN OUR COUNTRY!
WE WANT ABU HAMZA DEPORTED NOW!
WE MEAN NOW, RIGHT NOW!
Mike, Balsall Common, England
It's good to know that these people who are glad of our humane laws because it means they can use them against us can also have our laws used against them. We seem to have seen a lot of cases recently whereby the criminal is protected and the innocent are not. I'm glad this isn't one of those cases.
kim, london,
Good, at least the yanks will probably bang him up for a couple hundred years instead of the measly 7 we managed. I do hope the US prison population treat him as they see fit. Roll on extraditing all of our Muslim extremists where they will never see the light of day again.
John, London , UK
Its still a good bet the House Of Lords will let him stay I say get your money on now, recent judgements make it a strong favourite
alan, warks, uk
Good riddance to this parasitic tick. I hope our american friends have suitable accomodation for him for a long long time to come. Cant interest you in a matching Abu Qatada as well can we?
Also- Shez Brussels Belgium, Wake up & look around, this is the real world, how can you defend terrorists?
Andy, London, England
The comment from (Tony, Chicago, USA) shows the mob-justice mentality of the US.
Everyone deserves civilized justice, even criminals. America left the civilized world when it embraced wars of aggression, arbitrary detention, and torture.
Sending him to America is tantamount to rendition.
Shez, Brussels, Belgium
So glad to see the back of him, he wont see the light of day again once the yanks bang him up. let this be a lesson to some of the other "brit" haters out there, your time will come.
Jason, Glasgow, Scotland
The troubles that Abu Hanza is going through are politically motivated. Yes, he is a rabble rouser like some of our politicians - but this is populist stuff designed to appeal to the likes of Express and Sun readers.
The government has knelt down before the Americans in the way Galloway depicted.
richard mullens, London, Europe
I look forward to having this man in our country. I'm sure our prison population will give him the welcome he deserves.
Tony, Chicago, USA
Good riddance to him and all those hypocrites that follow him under the sanctity of our free nation. Take the Labour government with you and all the demoralising, identity stripping door wide open policies to absolutely anybody that can only take and not give back to our country.
a, Midlands,
You mean our courts actually got something right !!
Just a shame that the Amerricans wont be able to give him the Death Penalty due to our extradition laws.
Dean, Southampton, England
Good for the judges. I hope the Americans send him to Guantanamo Bay for a while before trial.
Brian O Cinneide, eThekwini, Afrika Borwa
Whoopee
A rational outcome from our creaking "justice" system for once.
Keep your fingers crossed that this decision doesn't get overturned.
Sean, Coventry, UK
But will he get through US Security with those "weapons" ? And what about his finger prints... surely you can't allow anyone in the States without having their DNA on record first?
A, London,
I wonder why he wants to stay in the UK so badly, since he has spent so much effort decrying it?
Antonio, Estepona, Spain
Someone actually has some sense? I'll keep the champagne on hold until he's left the country though.
Luke, London, UK