London: A said British judge said on Wednesday that some of the evidence against Abu Qatada is “extremely thin” ahead of the cleric’s appeal against extradition to Jordan.
Judge John Mitting’s comment came at the start of a review of whether the Abu Qatada would get a fair trial if he were deported to Jordan.
Abu Qatada, a Jordanian national, was convicted in his absence in Jordan in 1998 for involvement in terror attacks.
Britain is moving to send him to Jordan after interior minister Theresa May was given assurances by the Jordanian authorities that no evidence gained through torture would be used against him in a retrial on his return.
But discussing the case as the hearing began, Mitting, president of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, said: “The evidence seems extremely thin.”
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) had ruled that Abu Qatada could not be deported while there was a “real risk that evidence obtained by torture will be used against him”.
Abu Qatada’s lawyer Danny Friedman said even if his client loses his appeal, he could eventually appeal again to the ECHR.
The radical cleric has thwarted every attempt to deport him.
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