CAIRO: The European Court of Human Rights overturned a UK decision to deport Omar Othman (also known as Abu Qatada) back to his native Jordan, because it would be “a flagrant denial of justice,” according to the Court's human rights judges. Abu Qatada, considered “Osama bin Laden's right-hand man” in Europe, told authorities that he would be tortured is he was sent home. Jordan gave the UK their diplomatic assurances that Abu Qatada would not be tortured if he returned to the country. The original decision to deport Abu Qatada, made on the grounds of national security concerns, was overturned when the court decided that the man's deportation would violate his right to a fair trial and subject him to torture. The court issued a statement on the ruling, explaining that: “The court found that torture was widespread in Jordan, as was the use of torture evidence by the Jordanian courts. “The court also found that, in relation to each of the two terrorist conspiracies charged against Mr Othman, the evidence of his involvement had been obtained by torturing one of his co-defendants. “When those two co-defendants stood trial, the Jordanian courts had not taken any action in relation to their complaints of torture.” Human rights organization Amnesty International expressed its condemnation for the original bilateral decision to return Abu Qatada to his home nation. “The European Court has firmly declared that a person cannot be deported to stand trial in a proceeding where evidence gained through torture is likely to be admitted,” said Julia Hall, Amnesty International's expert on human rights and counter-terrorism. “The Court concluded that the use of torture evidence is illegal, immoral, and nullifies the right to a fair trial.” The Court's decision is a landmark ruling, as it is the first time that the court has found an expulsion to be a violation of the right to a fair trial. “In the last decade, especially in the counter-terrorism context, we have seen governments chip away at the ban on torture. Unfortunately this decision will further contribute to the erosion of the prohibition on torture by giving governments a ‘green light' to secure unreliable diplomatic assurances to justify sending people to places where they are at risk of torture,” Hall continued. Abu Qatada has lived in the UK as a political refugee since 1994. He was tried in absentia in Jordan in 1999 and 2000 for terrorism-related offenses. He was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1999 for plotting two bomb attacks on hotels in Amman. In 2000, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison on other terrorism-related charges. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/um17x Tags: Abu Qatada, European Court of Human Rights, featured Section: Europe, Human Rights, Jordan, Latest News
