Radical cleric Abu Qatada ‘would voluntarily return to Jordan’

PanARMENIAN.Net - Radical cleric Abu Qatada would voluntarily return to Jordan if the Jordanian government ratifies a treaty drawn up with the UK government, a court has heard, according to BBC News.

The treaty deals with the use of evidence obtained by torture.

Abu Qatada's lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald QC, told the court of the decision during a hearing to decide whether he should be released on bail.

Downing Street said it was "determined" to send the cleric to Jordan.

Abu Qatada faces terrorism charges there after being convicted in his absence in 1999 and sentenced to life imprisonment. It is on these charges that, under Jordanian law, he faces a retrial. But his lawyers claim he would not get a fair trial.

He has never been charged with an offence in the UK, although the government has been trying to deport him for almost eight years, during which time he has been in and out of jail.

The cleric is currently in prison after being arrested in March for allegedly breaching his strict bail conditions.

Last year, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac), which adjudicates on national security-related deportations, ruled Abu Qatada should not be removed from the UK because of fears that evidence obtained through torture would be used against him in Jordan.

The government lost an appeal against the ruling and it also failed in its bid to get the case referred to the Supreme Court.

Home Secretary Teresa May said she was subsequently applying directly to the Supreme Court for permission to challenge the ruling.

Last month, the government signed a mutual assistance treaty with Jordan - including guarantees on fair trials.

Mrs May says she believes the treaty will provide the courts with assurance that Abu Qatada would face a fair trial in Jordan.