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    Abu Qatada Is Released From Prison

    Radical cleric Abu Qatada has been released from jail and back into the community - as Sky News learned the path appeared to have been cleared for his deportation from the UK.

    Official sources confirmed that final bail conditions were approved by both sides on Monday morning and the 51-year-old Palestinian was released from Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire after he had been processed by prison authorities.

    But a Jordanian government minister told Sky News that his country recently passed new legislation to ensure no evidence gained through torture can be used in Jordanian courts.

    The assurance could be critical in British government efforts to secure the deportation of Qatada to Jordan.

    The European Court of Human Rights ruled last month that Qatada should not be extradited to Jordan for fear the evidence used to secure his conviction on terror charges had been obtained through torture.

    But the Jordanian legislative affairs minister Ayman Odeh said his government had passed legislation last September prohibiting the use of torture evidence.

    "Any evidence obtained from torture or the threat of torture should not be admissible before the courts in Jordan," he said.

    "We are confident that once we have the chance to make these statements through the diplomatic channels to the relevant court, they will be taken into consideration."

    The Home Office Minister James Brokenshire will be told of the law change when he visits Jordanian Justice officials this week.

    Qatada, described as al Qaeda's spiritual leader in Europe, will be subject to strict bail conditions.

    He will have to wear an electronic tag, be confined to his home address for 22 hours a day and he will not be able to access the internet or telephone.

    In addition, the cleric - who Home Secretary Theresa May has described as posing a "real threat to the UK's national security" - will not be allowed to take his children to school.

    The bail conditions are some of the toughest imposed since the 9/11 terror attacks.

    The cleric has been held for six-and-a-half years, more than any other detainee in modern immigration history, while fighting deportation to Jordan, where he has been convicted of terrorism charges in his absence.

    However, he was released on bail after human rights judges in Europe ruled he could not be deported to Jordan without assurances from authorities there that evidence gained through torture was not and will not be used against him to secure a conviction.

    Under the terms of his release, set by the Special Immigrations Appeals Commission, the Home Secretary has just three months to show the Government is making significant progress in securing his deportation or risk Qatada being freed from his bail conditions.

    An official spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron said: "We are clear that we want to remove Abu Qatada at the earliest possible opportunity.

    "In the meantime we have asked for the strictest possible bail measures to be in place.

    "We are committed to removing him, and we are looking at all the options."

    But the opposition criticised the Government's lack of speed.

    "It is clear the Government has not done all it can to stop Abu Qatada being released from high-security prison," Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said.

    "As soon as the European Court judgement was delivered a month ago now the Government could have appealed the decision and begun urgent negotiations with the Jordanian Government.

    "Instead the Government did nothing, leaving a judge to decide there was little progress being made in deporting Qatada and that bail was the only option."

    Qatada, also known as Omar Othman, was convicted by the Jordanians of involvement with terror attacks in 1998 and has featured in hate sermons found on videos in the flat of one of the 9/11 hijackers.

    Last week, the Prime Minister David Cameron and King Abdullah of Jordan agreed on the "importance of finding an effective resolution" to his case.

    Mr Cameron told King Abdullah of the "frustrating and difficult" position Britain was in over its efforts to deport the Islamist radical.

    Sky News understands Abu Qatada will live under close supervision in the north London borough of Wembley.

     
    • Moggie  •  Brighton, England  •  3 months ago
      Assuming he is on benefits, why aren't they stopped?
      • joanieh 3 months ago
        Would infringe his "human rights" - doesn't it cover just about everything!
      • Proud To Be Cornish 3 months ago
        Apparently Moggie we the British taxpayer have been paying the rent on his house in London and paying benefits to his wife and many children all the time he has been in prison - how much that has cone to god only knows but again the BRITISH taxpayer has had to stump up the money...
        It has also been reported that although his rent is paid by us he OWNS two houses in the London area and enjoys the rent from them - where is the justice in that, his assets should have been seized and the proceeds gone into paying for his keep in prison.
      • Barry 3 months ago
        How much would 2 x 9mm rounds add to the bill?
    • joanieh  •  London, England  •  3 months ago
      What a disgrace this country is kow-towing to Brussels. The Australians would have had him on the first plane right out of there. Not this bunch of wimps.
      • Mathew 3 months ago
        The Australians are just as wet as we are, if not more!
      • joanieh 3 months ago
        Wrong - the Australians don't take in anyone like we do here.
      • A Yahoo! user 3 months ago
        fek australian
    • dna  •  3 months ago
      o'boy what a country we live in, shows the amount of security our goverment will allow us, him and one eyed one armed friend release coming soon, just in time for the games!!!! what great ideas they will have dreamed up while away at OUR expense,, why hasn't someone taken them out! now they'll be walking free as birds laughing at us all.

      this countries leaders are a disgrace, get OUT of the eu,, NOW
      • Dan 3 months ago
        Wholly agree with you on that one!!!
      • Mephistopheles 3 months ago
        and so say all of us !!
      • mark 3 months ago
        Why dont you take him out as your so brave ?
    • Mephistopheles  •  London, England  •  3 months ago
      Oh I forgot he's been fighting deportation paid for with "legal aid" - thats us again, his lawyer should be made to agree to take the case on the basis of "we lose I go to Jordan to" .
      • Grumpy 3 months ago
        Makes you wonder who the hell is running this country !!
      • TartanForever 3 months ago
        Alex .. Well it sure as hell isn't us or anyone we vote for !!!!
      • Susan 3 months ago
        Strange that the no win no fee brigade didn't sign uo for this one
    • caz  •  3 months ago
      dont forget his 10k a week police protection.this moron would murder anyone and their familys without a thought all in the name of a fairy tale yet if someone throws a bit of bacon at him or calls him a nasty name theyll be remanded in jail.lets hope if he co-ordinates a terror attack it will be on the guardian or some other left wing orgs offices that support him and his human rights and not on normal right minded innocent people.
      • AN ENGLISH PATRIOT 3 months ago
        doent forget the money his so called family are getting off the social
      • Nooo 3 months ago
        why would I waste bacon on this dude, why not some dog #$%$ ;o)
      • Allan 3 months ago
        he shouldn't get any money set aside for his protection: police protection is to prevent people being victims of crime not to be given to people who have commited crimes the ability to live in the community and feel safe because what they have done is so sick people will want to lynch them: if a criminal is close to there release date and the public is so sickened by what they have done that the criminal in question will not feel safe in the community, it should be made perfectly clear that public funds will not be used to protect them, and if they feel as though they are in genuine jepordy, the criminal can write to the home office asking for there sentence to be increased indefinately on the condition they agree to pay rent on there cell and buy there own food and work to earn a wage to fund it. Although to be frank I'm not sure why anyone in prison is not being made to pay rent on there cell and buy there own food and earn a wage to pay for it: the skills they learn doing that might make finding a proper job when they get out easier because they know what to expect from real life & commiting a crime will not result in an easy life, just the same hard slog but within 4 walls.
    • Otto  •  Manchester, England  •  3 months ago
      I REALLY AM ASHAMED TO BE BRITISH SOMETIMES. WE THE BRITISH PEOPLE NEED TO MAKE A STAND ABOUT THIS!!!!!
    • Mephistopheles  •  London, England  •  3 months ago
      How is it that we can't get rid of the filth in our once graceful country, when other EU leaders do as they have to and you hear no more of it, Brussels is silent ? example - Berlusconi cleared a whole Island off Italy of african refugee's - Sarcozy of France cleared out all the trublesome romas etc. We need to employ politicians with spine and disband organisations such as Liberty etc.
    • DKR156  •  3 months ago
      Only In the UK can a terrorist known as Osama bin Laden's right-hand man get released from prison when he should never be released, be given round the clock protection at the cost of the taxpayer and allowed to live here with all the benefits.He should be given the same fate as Bin Larden, he should be killed.This country is becoming an intolerable place to live, the human rights act which looks after the rights of criminals and not the law-abiding has seen to that.I say get out while you still can.
    • Toppa  •  London, England  •  3 months ago
      Our politicians should hang their heads in shame, they are 'not' worthy of representing the ordinary citizens of this country. I am filled with revulsion, and I wouldn't be surprised if Nick Clegg wasn't waiting outside the prison gates with the biggest bouquet of flowers money could buy to hand to Qatada, for his wife and family, to express his regret of denying him conjugal rights, which may have harmed his 'Human Rights'
      Theresa May, David Cameron et al, you are a disgrace!
    • Nancy B  •  South Croydon, England  •  3 months ago
      The next step should be that he is deported to Jordan to stand trial there. His family should be sent with him because he has cost this country nearly half a million pounds in benefits since he settled here and he has the cheek to try to blow us all up - he's nothing but a pig!
    • Dave  •  3 months ago
      I read it would it be cheaper deporting him and breaking a European court ruling where you would have to pay of fine of around £15,000 to go against the ruling, instead we pay £500,000 to give him and his family round-the clock protection and to monitor him,sod his human rights he should be deported.
    • sparkie  •  Brighton, England  •  3 months ago
      It would be cheaper to send him and his minions back to jordan than the tax payers to pay for him to stay in a country that does not want him, but why was he allowed to enter the country in the first place, send the idiot back with him
    • DKR156  •  3 months ago
      This proves David Cameron has no back bone.Time for another general election because this is becoming a joke.
    • Jay  •  3 months ago
      Only in the UK could they allow this to happen, Politicians need to start living in the real world.
    • Jacob  •  Newton Abbot, England  •  3 months ago
      Last time I checked, you have to be human to have human rights.
    • David  •  Reading, England  •  3 months ago
      Send him and any others that support him out of the country and do not offer protection to them.
    • simon  •  Slough, England  •  3 months ago
      it seems simple you take him from his cushy cell to the airport .put him on a plane to jordan where he is a convicted terrorist, you hand him over to them to do what ever they see fit . turn round get on the plane and come home . you then tell ant other country who has an oppinion to go away .(politely) job done
    • AlexPMgr8  •  London, England  •  3 months ago
      Honestly, who can see themselves with head held up high, having afternoon tea and scones with this nobody abu grolly ??!!!! Two faced politicians . We don't want this ugly idiot beard terrorist here at all.. Send all the dodgy gits home with zero exceptions or we are going to have a major problem in britain. How are we going to stop them infecting scotland and Wales ???? We have been badly let down by , coff coff , our gov ??? jeeeeee sus H dumbwits !!
    • .  •  3 months ago
      The fact this moral atrocity is allowed to happen shows you how weak the current government is. I didn't vote them in for this kind of cobblers and will vote UKIP or BNP next time round. And would not consider myself a racist at all but this kind of #$%$ has gone on for far too long...
    • BRIANS-TIME  •  Hull, England  •  3 months ago
      Ah well, another example of the "Religion of Peace", soon to be rubbing shoulders with us again. No doubt just in time to welcome another few thousand of his brethen, into this land of Milk and Honey. {Well it is if you are an Immigrant}, We must work until we drop these days, someone has to keep paying the taxes to fund Hotel UK.
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