British authorities yesterday detained 10 foreigners considered a threat to national security, including radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada, a government official said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, confirmed that the Palestinian cleric described by British officials as Osama bin Laden's "spiritual ambassador in Europe," was in custody. His lawyer Gareth Peirce could not be reached for comment.
The Home Office refused to identify the foreigners.
The detentions came only days after British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced measures to deport radical Islamic extremists following last month's terrorist attacks on London's transit system. Human-rights activists have protested against measures that would allow Britain to deport suspects to countries where they could face torture.
Britain has been negotiating extradition agreements with several countries -- including Jordan, Algeria and Egypt -- to ensure that suspects would not be tortured. An agreement was signed on Wednesday with Jordan, where Abu Qatada was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment after being convicted of involvement in a series of explosions and terror plots.
"We believe now that we can get the assurances that these people will not be tortured or mistreated and on that basis we will be able to proceed with the deportations," Home Office minister Hazel Blears told the BBC.
Meanwhile, two people appeared in court yesterday charged in connection with the failed July 21 bomb attacks.
Ismael Abdurahman, 23, from southeast London, faces charges of withholding information from police about the whereabouts of Hamdi Issac, who is suspected of trying to blow up a subway train on July 21.
Issac, also known as Osman Hussain, later was detained in Rome and is being held there on international terrorism charges.
Abdurahman was also charged with failing to disclose information about Ibrahim Muktar Said, accused of trying to blow up a bus on July 21; assisting Issac in evading arrest; failing to disclose information about Yasin Hassan Omar, who allegedly tried to bomb a subway train near Warren Street Station, and failing to disclose information about Ramzi Mohamed, suspected of attempting to blow up a train near Oval Station.
Siraj Yassin Abdullah Ali, 30, also accused of failing to disclose information about Said and helping him evade arrest, was ordered held in custody until Nov. 17.
Ali and Abdurahman appeared at the Bow Street court via video-link from Belmarsh Prison in south London.
Issac's wife and sister-in-law also were due in court yesterday, charged with failing to disclose information about terrorism suspects. Six other people were expected in court yesterday over the July 21 attacks.
The three main suspects in the failed July 21 bombings appeared in court earlier this week on charges of attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, possessing or making explosives and conspiracy to use explosives on July 21.
So far, British police have not charged anyone in connection with the July 7 bombings, which killed 56 people, including the four attackers.
Also at the Bow Street court, a terror suspect wanted by the US authorities appeared for a preliminary extradition hearing.
Haroon Rashid Aswat, 30, is accused by the US of conspiring to set up a camp in Bly, Oregon, in 1999 and 2000 to provide training in weapons, hand-to-hand combat and martial arts for militants aiming to fight in Afghanistan.
Judge Timothy Workman ordered Aswat to remain in custody until Sept. 8.
Aswat was deported from Zambia last weekend and arrested by British police under the US warrant.
He has said he would contest the extradition, and he denies the US allegations.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday vowed that those behind bogus flood control projects would be arrested before Christmas, days after deadly back-to-back typhoons left swathes of the country underwater. Scores of construction firm owners, government officials and lawmakers — including Marcos’ cousin congressman — have been accused of pocketing funds for substandard or so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects. The Philippine Department of Finance has estimated the nation’s economy lost up to 118.5 billion pesos (US$2 billion) since 2023 due to corruption in flood control projects. Criminal cases against most of the people implicated are nearly complete, Marcos told reporters. “We don’t file cases for
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
‘ATTACK ON CIVILIZATION’: The culture ministry released drawings of six missing statues representing the Roman goddess of Venus, the tallest of which was 40cm Investigators believe that the theft of several ancient statues dating back to the Roman era from Syria’s national museum was likely the work of an individual, not an organized gang, officials said on Wednesday. The National Museum of Damascus was closed after the heist was discovered early on Monday. The museum had reopened in January as the country recovers from a 14-year civil war and the fall of the 54-year al-Assad dynasty last year. On Wednesday, a security vehicle was parked outside the main gate of the museum in central Damascus while security guards stood nearby. People were not allowed in because
RSS