London (dpa) – British Home Secretary Theresa May has arrived in Jordan for talks over the deportation of a radical Muslim cleric recently released from jail in Britain. Abu Qatada, who has joint Palestinian-Jordanian nationality, was freed on bail last month by a British Special Immigration Tribunal after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg blocked his deportation to Jordan, on the grounds that evidence obtained by torture might be used against him in trial. Qatada, once described as “al-Qaeda's right-hand man in Europe,” has been sentenced in absentia in Jordan for attacks on western and Israeli targets in the late 1990s. He came to Britain in 1993 and has been held in British jails without charge or trial for almost 10 years. The British government has expressed its “frustration” at the ECHR ruling barring his extradition, and is seeking new assurances from the government in Jordan that he would have a fair trial. Britain hopes to gain assurances that future evidence to be used against Qatada in a trial will not have been obtained through torture, in the hope that such pledges will satisfy the European court. Under a memorandum of understanding, Jordan has already given assurances that Qatada himself will not suffer “mistreatment.” However, initial talks between the Jordanian government and a senior Home Office official last month brought no result. The case has also been discussed by phone between Prime Minister David Cameron and Jordan's King Abdullah. Qatada, who lives with his family in north London, is under a strict curfew keeping him indoors for 22 hours a day and banning him from using a computer, mobile phone or public transport. A government spokesman said May would remain in Jordan until Wednesday. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/xfr1Y Tags: Abu Qatada, Amman, Minister, Terrorism, UK Section: Europe, Jordan, Latest News, Religion
