British authorities rearrest hate preacher Abu Qatada, restart deportation procedures

(Telegraph) Hate preacher Abu Qatada can be deported to Jordan after the Government received assurances from the Jordanian government about his treatment, Home Secretary Theresa May said today.

Qatada, who was re-arrested at him home this morning, will now face being put on an aeroplane to face trial in his home country, pending an appeal.

It is understood the government aims to deport him by April 30, although Mrs May warned the process could take some months.

She said: "I believe the assurances and the information we have gathered will mean that we can soon put Qatada on a plane and get him out of our country for good."

The decision comes after years of attempts to enable legal deportation to Jordan, which were blocked by the European Court of Human Rights over fears of torture.

Qatada, 52, who was once described by a judge as “Bin Laden’s right hand man in Europe” has been living in the UK since 1993 when he arrived with a forged passport.

The radical Muslim preacher was imprisoned in 2001, but freed on bail in 2005. In 2008, appeal court judges halted his deportation and he was returned to prison for breaching bail conditions.

Earlier this year, the European court blocked his deportation to Jordan because of the risk of him being put on trial based on evidence obtained under torture.

Now, after meeting with the Jordanian government, Mrs May said she had received three key assurance that she believes will override this decision.

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Nah, don't worry about it, just send him to Jordan, he'll be OK.