Radical cleric Abu Qatada being freed from UK jail

[February 13, 2012]  LONDON (AP) -- Bail conditions have been agreed for radical cleric Abu Qatada, Britain's judiciary said Monday, signaling his imminent release from an English prison.

The 51-year-old extremist preacher, whom officials have called a leading al-Qaida figure, is likely to be freed from Long Lartin jail later Monday.

The Palestinian-Jordanian cleric has spent more than six years in prison fighting deportation, but a tribunal ruled last week he should be released on bail.

Bail conditions are likely to include a curfew and an electronic anklet.

Abu Qatada, whose real name is Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, has been described in both Spanish and British courts as a leading al-Qaida figure in Europe. He is reported to have had close ties to the late Osama bin Laden.

British officials say he poses a serious threat to the country's security, but attempts to deport him to Jordan to face terrorism charges was blocked by the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled last month that there is a risk evidence obtained through torture would be used against him in court.

Prime Minister David Cameron's office said Monday that Britain still hoped to overcome the European's courts objections.

"We are clear we want to remove Abu Qatada at the earliest opportunity. We are looking at all the options," a spokesman for Cameron said, on condition of anonymity in line with policy.

Abu Qatada arrived in Britain in 1993 and was detained in 2002 under anti-terrorism laws that at the time allowed suspected terrorists to be jailed without charge. He has never been charged with a crime in Britain, although authorities have accused him of advising militants and raising money for terrorist attacks.

Although Abu Qatada was released in 2005 when the unpopular law was overturned, he was kept under surveillance and arrested again within months and held pending deportation to Jordan.

He has been convicted in absentia there of terrorist offenses related to two alleged bomb plots in 1999 and 2000, and would face a retrial there if deported from Britain.

[Associated Press; By JILL LAWLESS]

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