Britain has signed a treaty with Jordan aimed at removing the last obstacles to the deportation of radical cleric Abu Qatada, Britain’s Home Secretary Theresa May told British lawmakers Wednesday.
The new agreement contains “fair trial guarantees” aimed at overcoming objections based in law that evidence gained through torture might be used in any trial of Abu Qatada in Jordan. May also told lawmakers she will ask Britain’s top court directly to hear her appeal against a block on the man’s deportation.
A Jordanian national, Abu Qatada is wanted in his home country and has been tried and convicted in absentia on two charges of conspiracy to cause explosions, court documents say. Britain has been trying to deport Abu Qatada since 2005, but his legal appeals have kept him in the country.