LONDON — Radical cleric Abu Qatada won a last-minute appeal on Monday against deportation from Britain to face terrorism charges in Jordan, a blow to the Conservative-led government that says he is a huge security risk. Britain, where Qatada has been in and out of jail for seven years without charge since his arrest in 2002, had argued that a 2005 deal with Jordan and more recent diplomatic assurances would ensure that Qatada would obtain a fair trial there. Qatada said his trial might be skewed by evidence obtained using torture, a claim upheld in a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights. He will be released on Tuesday under bail conditions that include a 16-hour curfew at his London home. Arguing for bail, the cleric's lawyer Edward Fitzgerald told the court: “Enough is enough, it has gone on for many, many years now. “There is no prospect of deportation taking place within a reasonable time, in fact there is no prospect at present of deportation at all.” Government lawyer Robin Tam said Abu Qatada posed an “enormous” risk to national security and a risk of absconding and should be denied bail. The Home Office said it “strongly disagrees” with the decision to grant Abu Qatada his appeal. “We have obtained assurances not just in relation to the treatment of Qatada himself, but about the quality of the legal processes that would be followed throughout his trial,” a spokesman said. “We will therefore seek leave to appeal today's decision.” It had no immediate reaction to the granting of bail. A Jordanian of Palestinian origin, described by a Spanish judge as “Osama Bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe”, he has been a thorn in the side of successive British governments. Britain says videos of his sermons influenced Mohammed Atta, the ringleader of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the USs. Monday's ruling, delivered at a special court that deals with security cases, said British Interior Minister Theresa May had been wrong not to revoke an earlier deportation ruling against Qatada, and allowed his appeal. The decision is a setback for May and the government, both keen to foster an image of competence and decisiveness on security issues. Britain's failure to deport Qatada contrasts with its success last month in extraditing to the US another radical cleric, Abu Hamza, who fought deportation for eight years. — Reuters
