Abu Qatada



Abu Qatada Al-Filistini (born Omar Mahmoud Othman) is a suspected terrorist who has been deported from the United Kingdom to Jordan to stand trial for alleged terrorist offences. He has been described by a British court as "a truly dangerous individual at the centre in the United Kingdom of terrorist activities associated with al-Qaida" and by a Spanish judge as Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe.

Biography
Born in Bethlehem, Qatada has been living in the United Kingdom since 1993. Although he arrived using a forged passport, he was recognised as a refugee in 1994 and given the right to stay.

In Jordan, Qatada was convicted in absentia in 1999 and 2000 for involvement in two terror plots.

In 2001 he was included on the UN's list of individuals connected to al-Qaeda. Recordings of his sermons were found in the flat occupied by the 9/11 hijackers.

Coinciding with the introduction of new legislation allowing foreign terror suspects to be held without charge or trial, Qatada was arrested in 2002 and held in Belmarsh Prison. This detention was rejected in March 2005 and Qatada was instead placed under house arrest, only to be detained again the following August.

In 2007 it was ruled that Qatada could be deported to Jordan as he posed a threat to national security. He successfully appealed against this ruling and was bailed in 2008, with the Court of Appeal deciding that he could not be deported to a regime where he faces torture; Qatada was subsequently detained again later the same year following new evidence.

In 2009 the Law Lords argued against the Court of Appeal's ruling and backed Qatada's deportation, but this decision was eventually overturned by the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds that Jordan would not give Qatada a fair trial.

Qatada was released under strict bail conditions in 2012. These stipulate that he be electronically tagged; that he can only leave his house twice a day, each for a one-hour period; that he must telephone the monitoring company as the beginning and end of each trip outside; that he follow strict guidelines as to who he communicates with; that he does not use any mobile phones, computers, or other devices which can connect to the Internet; that he does not attend any mosques; and that his residence be inspected when necessary, amongst other things.

However, this wasn't enough for groups such as the English Defence League, Britain First and South East Alliance, which held weekly protests outside Qatada's house until being banned from doing so out of concern for his children.

On 7th July 2013 he was deported from the UK after the Home Secretary obtained legal assurances from the Jordanian authorities that evidence obtained through torture would not be used at his trial. After all that fuss, he was found not guilty of terrorism charges by a civilian court in Jordan, but won't be allowed back in the UK. Rule Britannia, eh?

Views
In 1995 Qatada issued a fatwa calling for apostates and their families to be killed.

He believes that "the Jews control the world":