Britain Arrests Muslim Cleric, Again Seeking Deportation
LONDON — The British authorities on Tuesday rearrested Abu Qatada, a radical Muslim cleric who was released from prison in February after a European court overruled British judges and blocked his deportation to Jordan on terror charges. They said they would resume efforts to remove him from Britain.
The cleric, 51, whose real name is Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, was convicted in Jordan of being involved in a series of terrorist bombing plots more than a decade ago. Jordanian officials have said he would face retrial for the bombings if he were repatriated from Britain.
But in January, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Mr. Othman, who is regarded by British officials as one of Al Qaeda’s major inspirational leaders in Europe and a threat to national security, could not be deported because a trial in Jordan would be tainted by evidence obtained by torture.
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