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Abu Hamza case: High Court to rule on terror suspects Abu Hamza's health has deteriorated, High Court hears
(about 9 hours later)
The High Court is due to rule on a last-ditch attempt by five terror suspects including cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri to avoid extradition to the US. Terror suspect Abu Hamza al-Masri's health has deteriorated, perhaps because of his detention in "an unrelentingly harsh environment", his lawyer has told the High Court.
Abu Hamza, Babar Ahmad, Syed Talha Ahsan, Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled al-Fawwaz must show there are "new and compelling" reasons not to send them. Abu Hamza has asked the court to grant a temporary injunction against his extradition to the US for trial.
Last week, the European Court of Human Rights rejected their bid to take the case to its highest chamber. His lawyer said the "uncontradicted medical opinion" was that a scan was "medically necessary".
The Home Office says it wants to deport the men "as quickly as possible". The Home Office has said it wants to deport him "as quickly as possible".
'Last chance' Abu Hamza is one of six terror suspects held in the UK who are wanted in the US. The former preacher at Finsbury Park Mosque in London is accused of planning a terror training camp in the US and assisting hostage-taking in Yemen.
Tuesday's challenges at the High Court will be heard by two judges - Sir John Thomas, President of the Queen's Bench Division, and Mr Justice Ouseley. But to avoid extradition, he, Babar Ahmad, Syed Talha Ahsan, Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled al-Fawwaz must show there are "new and compelling" reasons not to send them.
Abu Hamza, a former preacher at Finsbury Park Mosque in London, is accused of planning a terror training camp in the US and assisting hostage-taking in Yemen. Documents before the court said it would be "oppressive" to send Abu Hamza to the US for trial.
His lawyers are expected to argue that his mental health has deteriorated and that the Home Office cannot extradite him without returning his passport. Alun Jones QC asked the court for a temporary injunction blocking Abu Hamza's removal until the MRI scan has been competed.
BBC Home Affairs correspondent Danny Shaw says that after an eight-year legal battle this is "surely Abu Hamza's last chance" to avoid extradition. He said a judge referred to Abu Hamza's "very poor health" at an extradition hearing in 2008.
Abu Hamza and Khaled al-Fawwaz have already been granted interim injunctions preventing their removal pending the hearing. "Over four years later, it appears there has been, or may have been, a further deterioration, perhaps attributable to sleep deprivation and the continued confinement of the appellant in an unrelentingly harsh environment."
South London computer expert Babar Ahmad has been held in a UK prison without trial for eight years after being accused of raising funds for terrorism with his co-accused, Syed Ahsan. Abu Hamza was arrested at the request of the US in May 2004 - but the extradition was halted when the UK decided to try him on allegations relating to his sermons. He was convicted in 2006.
In 2008, his appeal against extradition went to the European Court. In April 2012 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that his extradition was lawful, and his appeal against that ruling was rejected in September.
A two-day hearing to consider their appeals against extradition began in London on Tuesday before Sir John Thomas, President of the Queen's Bench Division, and Mr Justice Ouseley.
Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled al-Fawwaz are accused of being aides to Osama bin Laden in London.Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled al-Fawwaz are accused of being aides to Osama bin Laden in London.
Between 1999 and 2006, the men were indicted on various terrorism charges in the US. As al-Fawwaz was arrested in 1998 and the case has been running for 14 years, his lawyer Ed Fitzgerald said.
The men have argued they would face inhumane treatment in the US. He told the High Court that extradition would expose him to a "real risk of indefinite confinement."
On Monday an application by anti-extradition campaigner Karl Watkin to privately prosecute Mr Ahmad and his co-accused Syed Ahsan was turned down by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer. He also said there was new evidence casting doubt on the need for extradition. A diplomatic cable considering a "de-listing of Mr Fawwaz" from a UN "terror list" existed, he added.
Mr Watkin said he was calling for a UK trial because the alleged crimes had taken place in the UK and the Crown Prosecution Service had not acted. He said 149,000 people had signed a petition to Parliament about the case. Between 1999 and 2006, the men were indicted on various terrorism charges in the US, with al-Fawwaz accused of involvement in, or support for, the bombing of US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 1998.
Had it succeeded, the application would have resulted in the men being prosecuted in Britain rather than the US. Mr Fitzgerald said al-Fawwaz publicly disassociated himself from Bin Laden after the al-Qaeda leader issued a fatwa against Americans in 1996.
But href="http://blog.cps.gov.uk/2012/10/babar-ahmad-private-prosecution.html" >in a statement, Mr Starmer said the documents provided by Mr Watkin were "very short, lack any meaningful detail and do not provide any real support for a prosecution". South London computer expert Babar Ahmad has been held in a UK prison without trial for eight years after being accused of raising funds for terrorism with his co-accused, Syed Ahsan.
Haroon Aswat, Abu Hamza's co-accused, was allegedly involved in the plot to establish a training camp in Oregon. He was arrested in August 2005.
The European Court of Human Rights has "adjourned its examination" of Haroon Aswat's claim because it requires further details about his mental health problems.