Abu Qatatad deported from UK,arraigned in jordan

Radical cleric Abu Qatada has appeared in
court in Jordan after being deported from
the UK.
His plane left RAF Northolt at 02:46 BST for
his home country, where he was formally
charged with terror offences, which he
denied.
Prime Minister David Cameron said he was
"delighted" at his removal.
Abu Qatada was first arrested in the UK
over alleged terror connections in 2001. He
was rearrested in 2005, when attempts to
deport him began.
The Palestinian-Jordanian cleric's
deportation was finally able to proceed
after the UK and Jordan signed a treaty
agreeing that evidence obtained through
torture would not be used against him.
Home Secretary Theresa May said she was
glad that the government's determination
to remove him had been "vindicated".
"This dangerous man has now been
removed from our shores to face the
courts in his own country," she said.
She added that she wanted to streamline
such deportation processes in future.
"I am also clear that we need to make
sense of our human rights laws and
remove the many layers of appeals
available to foreign nationals we want to
deport.
"We are taking steps – including through
the new Immigration Bill – to put this
right."
Changes to the bill would affect cases like
Abu Qatada's, she said, and also cases in
which people facing deportation claim they
have
a right to respect for their private
and family life in the UK, as set out in article
eight
of the European Convention on
Human Rights.
Mrs May said she hoped to reform the
convention, and would not rule out the
possibility of the UK withdrawing from it
altogether.
"Nothing is off the table," she said.
"We're working on that at the moment,"
the home secretary told the BBC, adding
that the Conservative manifesto for the
2015 general election would "set out
clearly what we would do in relation to
these issues".
Abu Qatada was accompanied on the flight
of around five hours by six people from
Jordan, comprising three security officials,
a psychologist, a medical examiner and his
Jordanian lawyer, the BBC understands.
The 53-year-old had been held at Belmarsh
prison in south-east London, from where a
convoy of three police vehicles left at
midnight.
After arriving at Jordan's Marka military
airport he was driven in a green SUV,
escorted by a 12-car convoy, to the sealed
off state security court in Amman.
Military prosecutors charged him with
conspiracy to carry out terrorist acts –
relating to a plot to bomb American and
Israeli tourists during Jordan's millennium
celebrations.
The cleric was remanded in custody for 15
days and taken to eastern Jordan's
Muwaqqar prison, a judicial official said.
After the hearing his lawyer Tayseer Diab
said: "The attorney general interrogated
him today, and he directed a series of
accusations towards him – he accused him
of conspiracy to take part in terrorist acts.
"My client denied all the allegations, and he
asserts that his return to Jordan was out of
his own free will, in order to be with his
family. The procedure was carried out well,
and he received good treatment."
Speaking outside the court, Abu Qatada's
father Mahmoud said: "His spirits are high
and the officials are good people – they
might allow him to obtain bail after a few
days."
BBC home affairs correspondent Dominic
Casciani said Home Office officials were
"incredibly relieved" after "one of the most
tense weeks in the department's recent
history".
"They were so concerned about the
possibility that the cleric could change his
mind at the last minute that they were
leaving nothing to chance."

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