Terror suspect to be extradited

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/6470399.stm

Version 0 of 1.

A man wanted in the US over terrorism charges has lost his High Court battle against extradition.

Syed Hashmi, 27, of no fixed address, is accused of supplying military equipment, while in London, to al-Qaeda operatives in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Mr Hashmi, a US citizen born in Pakistan, came to the UK on a student visa in 2003 and joined radical Islamic group al-Muhajiroun.

Mr Hashmi was arrested in June 2006 at Heathrow Airport.

'Military gear'

At the High Court, in London, he challenged a decision by district judge Timothy Workman to send his case to the home secretary for a final decision on whether he should be extradited to the US.

Mr Hashmi was indicted by the United States District Court for the southern district of New York in early 2004.

His extradition warrant alleged he received "military gear" in London intended for use in committing terrorist offences between January and March 2004.

In court on Tuesday, Lord Justice Baker said Mr Hashmi had been accused of allowing his flat in London "to be used by someone to store various items of clothing... pending their despatch by that person to al-Qaeda in Afghanistan".

'Al-Qaeda quartermaster'

Mr Hashmi's lawyers argued that any trial should take place in the UK.

Dismissing Mr Hashmi's his High Court challenge, Lord Justice Baker, sitting with Mr Justice Clarke, rejected Mr Hashmi's accusations that the arrest warrants were flawed.

The judges agreed the complaint was "wholly technical and without substance".

Lord Justice Baker said Mr Hashmi was alleged to be "a quartermaster who has assisted in the supply of military equipment" in the fight against US forces.

In those circumstances, the jurisdiction claimed over Mr Hashmi as a US citizen by the US authorities was "not exorbitant", he added.

The judges also ruled his extradition was "lawful and proportionate" under European human rights law.