Abu Qatada set to be deported to Jordan
Radical cleric due to board plane at RAF Northolt in early hours of Sunday morning to face retrial for terrorism
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The Jordanian terror suspect Abu Qatada was due to fly from RAF Northolt in west London. Photograph: Andrew Cowie/AFP/Getty Images
Abu Qatada was due to fly to Jordan early on Sunday morning after a legal battle to deport him that has lasted almost a decade. The radical cleric was scheduled to board a military plane at RAF Northolt in west London.
The deportation was approved after the UK and Jordan signed a treaty guaranteeing that he would not face a retrial in Jordan on terrorism charges based on evidence obtained by torture.
Abu Qatada, 53, was due to be driven from Belmarsh prison in south-east London to the airport, before being flown out of the country at 2am. A team of six from Jordan including three security officials were to accompany him, according to a BBC report.
Abu Qatada, who was born in the West Bank, has not returned to Jordan, where he has citizenship, since fleeing to the UK 20 years ago. He is wanted by Jordan to face a retrial over two bombings in Amman, for which he was convicted in his absence in 1999. He agreed to leave the UK as soon as the treaty was ratified by both countries.
British judges say that the preacher, who was described as a key figure for al-Qaida-linked activities in the UK, has remained a threat to national security. He was recalled to prison after breaching a bail condition that restricts use of mobile phones. Abu Qatada was also being investigated by Scotland Yard over suspected extremist material found during a search of his home.
The legal battle to remove him has cost the UK more than £1.7msince 2005. The figure includes £647,658 in legal aid for the terror suspect and more than £1m in government costs, the home secretary Theresa May disclosed in a letter to the all-party Commons home affairs committee last month.After landing the cleric is expected to be taken to a civilian prison ahead of his retrial.
Jordan has said that its General Intelligence Directorate, which has been accused of mistreating prisoners, will not be involved in his arrest, questioning or detention.
Abu Qatada is likely to be held in The Juweida Reform and Rehabilitation Centre on the outskirts of Amman.His wife and five children are expected to remain in the UK.
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