Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Bail conditions have been agreed for radical cleric Abu Qatada, Britain’s judiciary said, signalling his imminent release from an English prison.
The 51-year-old extremist preacher, whom officials have called a leading al-Qaida figure, was expected to be freed from jail last night.
The cleric has spent more than six years in prison fighting deportation, but a tribunal ruled last week he should be released on bail.
Bail conditions are likely to include a curfew and an electronic anklet.
Abu Qatada, whose real name is Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, has been described in Spanish and British courts as a leading al-Qaida figure in Europe. He is reported to have had close ties to Osama bin Laden.
British officials say he poses a serious threat to the country’s security, but attempts to deport him to Jordan to face terrorism charges was blocked by the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled last month that there is a risk evidence obtained through torture would be used against him in court.
Prime Minister David Cameron’s office said that Britain still hoped to overcome the European’s courts objections.
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