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Britain lists deportable `terror' offenses

"The human rights of those people who were blown up on the tube in London on July 7 are, to be quite frank, more important than the human rights of the people who committed those acts."

Charles Clarke, UK home secretary

British Home Secretary Charles Clarke published a list of terrorism-related offenses on Wednesday, setting the ground rules for Britain to bar or deport foreign militants accused of fomenting hatred, violence and extremism.

The list is directed primarily at firebrand Muslim clerics and scholars the government suspects of igniting violent militancy among British Muslims like the London bombers.

But the promise of tougher deportation policies set off an unusually undiplomatic squabble after a prominent UN torture specialist, Manfred Nowak, expressed concern about the likely destiny of people sent back to countries with poor human rights records.

Referring to the subway and bus bombings that killed 56 people, including four bombers, last month, Clarke responded testily, "The human rights of those people who were blown up on the tube in London on July 7 are, to be quite frank, more important than the human rights of the people who committed those acts."

"I wish the UN would look at human rights in the round rather than simply focusing all the time on the terrorist," he said.

The announcement by Clarke, Britain's senior law enforcement official, followed a promise by Prime Minister Tony Blair early this month to take actions, including closing mosques, barring Muslim organizations, and deporting clerics, to forestall terror attacks.

Clarke said that the new regulations covered the expression of views that "foment, justify, or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs" or that "seek to provoke others to terrorist acts."

The regulations do not confer new powers on Clarke but provide guidelines for using his current powers to bar or deport people, his office said. In the past, Britain has responded to terrorist campaigns, particularly those by the Irish Republican Army, with tougher detention and other laws.

The "unacceptable behaviors" announced on Wednesday include actions to "foment other serious criminal activity or seek to provoke others to serious criminal acts" or to "foster hatred which might lead to intercommunity violence in the UK."

The new regulations cover "writing, producing, publishing, or distributing material; public speaking, including preaching; running a Web site; or using a position of responsibility, such as teacher, community, or youth leader," the statement said.

It was not known who was most likely to be affected by the measures. Clarke said a "database of individuals around the world who have demonstrated these unacceptable behaviors will be developed."

He said later that he would begin to act "very quickly" but did not identify likely targets by name. The Muslim Council of Britain said Clarke's measures were "too wide and unclear."

Since Blair threatened to expel foreign-born militants this month, the government has rounded up 10 men it plans to deport, including Abu Qatada, a Jordanian citizen of Palestinian descent accused of being a spiritual guide to al-Qaeda.

Britain also barred Syrian-born Sheik Omar Bakri Mohammed from returning to Britain from Lebanon.

The government is negotiating with various nations for guarantees that militants sent back to their own countries will not be abused. Some civil rights groups have challenged the measures. But the moves has been welcomed by the opposition Liberal Democrats.
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