Islamic Extremist Abu Qatada To Be Released On Bail: GET LAWYERS, Islamic Extremist Abu Qatada To Be Released On Bail

Radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada, who was once dubbed "Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe", will be released from prison within days after being granted bail. The legal ruling was criticised by a Home Office spokesman who called him a "dangerous man who we believe poses a real threat to our security". Qatada had appealed to be freed from jail as he fights deportation to Jordan. It came after European human rights judges ruled last month he could not be sent back there without assurances that evidence gained through torture would not be used against him. Qatada will be released despite the Home Secretary Theresa May stating he would be kept behind bars while she considered all legal options to send him back to Jordan. Mrs May wanted him kept in jail while British diplomats continue to seek assurances from Jordanian authorities that evidence obtained by torture would not be used. But, at a hearing at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, Mr Justice Mitting said he should be freed with stringent bail conditions. Qatada's lawyer Ed Fitzgerald QC said he has been held for six-and-a-half years while fighting deportation "against a background of almost nine years' detention without charges on the grounds of national security". Mr Fitzgerald said this was equivalent to a 17-year jail sentence. The bail conditions will be similar to those set in 2008, with Qatada confined to his home for all but two one-hour periods each day. Qatada, also known as Omar Othman, 51 ...

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