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| Abu Qatada Acquitted on 2nd Terrorism Charge | Abu Qatada Acquitted on 2nd Terrorism Charge |
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| AMMAN, Jordan — A militant Islamic cleric known as Abu Qatada walked free on Wednesday after a state security court here acquitted him on terrorism charges, punctuating 15 years of legal battles with the Jordanian and British authorities. | AMMAN, Jordan — A militant Islamic cleric known as Abu Qatada walked free on Wednesday after a state security court here acquitted him on terrorism charges, punctuating 15 years of legal battles with the Jordanian and British authorities. |
| His case had long been closely watched, regarded as a test of the conflicting imperatives of national security and human rights. | His case had long been closely watched, regarded as a test of the conflicting imperatives of national security and human rights. |
| The 54-year-old cleric, whose real name is Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, stood for the judgment in a cage inside the courtroom. As a judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to convict him, relatives chanted “God is great” and his eyes filled with tears, according to reporters at the hearing. | The 54-year-old cleric, whose real name is Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, stood for the judgment in a cage inside the courtroom. As a judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to convict him, relatives chanted “God is great” and his eyes filled with tears, according to reporters at the hearing. |
| After his release from prison a few hours later, he and other family members traveled to his mother’s home in Amman to be reunited. | After his release from prison a few hours later, he and other family members traveled to his mother’s home in Amman to be reunited. |
| The verdict represented a dramatic reversal of his fortunes after an earlier death sentence. But it also cast some light into the murky rivalries among Islamist factions and their Arab hosts at a time when the rise of the militant Sunni group Islamic State has set a new benchmark for ferocity in the name of jihad. | The verdict represented a dramatic reversal of his fortunes after an earlier death sentence. But it also cast some light into the murky rivalries among Islamist factions and their Arab hosts at a time when the rise of the militant Sunni group Islamic State has set a new benchmark for ferocity in the name of jihad. |
| Mr. Othman’s acquittal came after he and another militant cleric known as Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, whose real name is Mohammed al-Barqawi, condemned the Islamic State, which broke away from Al Qaeda earlier this year. The group is seeking to build an Islamic caliphate in Syria and Iraq, igniting concerns that the militants could spread chaos in Jordan, a pro-Western monarchy that has long straddled the region’s political and religious fault-lines.. | Mr. Othman’s acquittal came after he and another militant cleric known as Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, whose real name is Mohammed al-Barqawi, condemned the Islamic State, which broke away from Al Qaeda earlier this year. The group is seeking to build an Islamic caliphate in Syria and Iraq, igniting concerns that the militants could spread chaos in Jordan, a pro-Western monarchy that has long straddled the region’s political and religious fault-lines.. |
| Jordan is one of five Arab nations that joined the United States in bombing Islamic State targets in Syria early on Tuesday. Analysts said the acquittal of Abu Qatada could reflect a calculation among Jordanian security officials that there is a tactical advantage in releasing him as a counterweight to the influence of newer and more extreme jihadists, such as those loyal to the Islamic State. | Jordan is one of five Arab nations that joined the United States in bombing Islamic State targets in Syria early on Tuesday. Analysts said the acquittal of Abu Qatada could reflect a calculation among Jordanian security officials that there is a tactical advantage in releasing him as a counterweight to the influence of newer and more extreme jihadists, such as those loyal to the Islamic State. |
| Earlier this year, for instance, the cleric joined Mr. Maqdisi in urging Islamic State leaders to refrain from killing Muslim and non-Muslim hostages who had not taken up arms against them. The appeal did not avert the claimed beheadings of two American and one British captive in recent weeks. | Earlier this year, for instance, the cleric joined Mr. Maqdisi in urging Islamic State leaders to refrain from killing Muslim and non-Muslim hostages who had not taken up arms against them. The appeal did not avert the claimed beheadings of two American and one British captive in recent weeks. |
| A fourth Western hostage, Alan Henning, a British cab driver who had volunteered to deliver humanitarian aid in Syria, has been publicly threatened with the same fate. His wife Barbara issued an appeal for mercy late on Tuesday, saying she had received an audio file of Mr. Henning pleading for his life. | A fourth Western hostage, Alan Henning, a British cab driver who had volunteered to deliver humanitarian aid in Syria, has been publicly threatened with the same fate. His wife Barbara issued an appeal for mercy late on Tuesday, saying she had received an audio file of Mr. Henning pleading for his life. |
| “We are at a loss why those leading Islamic State cannot open their hearts and minds to the facts surrounding Alan’s imprisonment and why they continue to threaten his life,” she said. | “We are at a loss why those leading Islamic State cannot open their hearts and minds to the facts surrounding Alan’s imprisonment and why they continue to threaten his life,” she said. |
| “I have been told that he has been to a Sharia court and found innocent of being a spy and declared to be no threat,” she said. “I implore Islamic State to abide by the decisions of their own justice system. Please release Alan.” | “I have been told that he has been to a Sharia court and found innocent of being a spy and declared to be no threat,” she said. “I implore Islamic State to abide by the decisions of their own justice system. Please release Alan.” |
| In his latest trial, Mr. Othman faced accusations relating to a plot to bomb Israeli, American and other Western tourists at millennium celebrations in 2000. In June he was acquitted on separate charges of planning to carry out a terror attack on the American school in Amman. | In his latest trial, Mr. Othman faced accusations relating to a plot to bomb Israeli, American and other Western tourists at millennium celebrations in 2000. In June he was acquitted on separate charges of planning to carry out a terror attack on the American school in Amman. |
| He had denied all the charges. | |
| Mr. Othman went on trial in Jordan after his deportation last year from Britain, where he spent many years in exile, resisting efforts to expel him. Backed by human rights lawyers, his frequent legal successes galled British officials, who breathed a collective sigh of relief when he left last year. | |
| “The U.K. courts here were very clear that Abu Qatada poses a threat to our national security,” Home Secretary Theresa May, who led the effort to remove Mr. Othman, said on Wednesday. “That’s why we were pleased as a government to remove him from the U.K.” | “The U.K. courts here were very clear that Abu Qatada poses a threat to our national security,” Home Secretary Theresa May, who led the effort to remove Mr. Othman, said on Wednesday. “That’s why we were pleased as a government to remove him from the U.K.” |
| “He is subject to a deportation order, he is also subject to a United Nations travel ban. That means he will not be returning to the U.K.,” she said. | “He is subject to a deportation order, he is also subject to a United Nations travel ban. That means he will not be returning to the U.K.,” she said. |
| Supporters of the cleric, by contrast, are likely to cast the latest ruling as a final vindication of his longstanding protestations of innocence. He made no immediate public comment about his intentions following his acquittal. | Supporters of the cleric, by contrast, are likely to cast the latest ruling as a final vindication of his longstanding protestations of innocence. He made no immediate public comment about his intentions following his acquittal. |
| Mr. Othman, a Jordanian citizen of Palestinian descent and a father of five, fled to Britain and was granted asylum in 1993, saying that he had been tortured in Jordan. | Mr. Othman, a Jordanian citizen of Palestinian descent and a father of five, fled to Britain and was granted asylum in 1993, saying that he had been tortured in Jordan. |
| But the case against him had its origins in two trials held in Jordan in 1999 and 2000. | |
| In the first case, Mr. Othman was sentenced to death in his absence for what prosecutors called the plot on the Amman school, a judgment that was later reduced to life imprisonment. In the second, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for involvement in the alleged plot to attack tourists. | In the first case, Mr. Othman was sentenced to death in his absence for what prosecutors called the plot on the Amman school, a judgment that was later reduced to life imprisonment. In the second, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for involvement in the alleged plot to attack tourists. |
| As efforts continued to deport him to Jordan for a retrial, the cleric was frequently imprisoned or held in Britain under restrictions amounting to house arrest, resisting expulsion on the grounds that judicial proceedings in Jordan would be based on evidence obtained under duress. | As efforts continued to deport him to Jordan for a retrial, the cleric was frequently imprisoned or held in Britain under restrictions amounting to house arrest, resisting expulsion on the grounds that judicial proceedings in Jordan would be based on evidence obtained under duress. |
| Last year, Jordan and Britain agreed to a treaty to forbid the use of evidence resulting from torture and he was finally sent to Jordan.. Britain celebrated his departure as a turning point in its struggle against Islamic ideology linked to Al Qaeda. | Last year, Jordan and Britain agreed to a treaty to forbid the use of evidence resulting from torture and he was finally sent to Jordan.. Britain celebrated his departure as a turning point in its struggle against Islamic ideology linked to Al Qaeda. |
| Western European intelligence agencies have accused himof having links to senior Qaeda officials, and at various times, Mr. Othman has been sought by the authorities in nine countries, including the United States. | Western European intelligence agencies have accused himof having links to senior Qaeda officials, and at various times, Mr. Othman has been sought by the authorities in nine countries, including the United States. |
| German security officials have said that tapes of Mr. Othman’s sermons were found in apartments in Hamburg that were used by some of those involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. A Spanish judge called him Osama bin Laden’s “right-hand man in Europe.” | German security officials have said that tapes of Mr. Othman’s sermons were found in apartments in Hamburg that were used by some of those involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. A Spanish judge called him Osama bin Laden’s “right-hand man in Europe.” |