Extremist preacher Abu Qatada will stay jailed during Olympics
RADICAL cleric Abu Qatada will stay in prison for at least another five months until his deportation appeal in October, a judge ruled yesterday.
The extremist, who has been described as Osama Bin Laden’s “right-hand-man”, is fighting deportation to Jordan, where he is accused of involvement in several bomb attacks.
But yesterday a Special Immigration Appeals Commission judge denied Qatada bail, on the grounds that the 51-year-old might abscond if freed and jeopardise police’s ability to protect the public when their resources were in high demand during the Olympic games.
Lawyers for Qatada also said yesterday that it was “almost inevitable” that the case would go back to the Europe justice system if the appeal goes against him in October.
The preacher lost a last-minute legal bid to make a final appeal to Europe’s human rights judges earlier this month.