LONDON, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Pressure is growing on the British government to fulfill its promised crackdown on extremists by charging or deporting a Saudi advocate of terrorism.
Muhammad al-Massari, who has asylum in Britain, runs al-Tajdeed, a radio station that openly backs suicide attacks. His Web site shows the beheadings of Western hostages and attacks on British troops in Iraq. Earlier this month, he named four Italian cities as targets for terror strikes.
Members of Parliament from across the political spectrum and several foreign governments have called for action against him.
Britain has previously tried to deport him but the courts intervened to prevent him being sent back to Saudi Arabia, a country with a poor human rights record. Under the European Convention on Human Rights, Britain is prohibited from deporting individuals to countries where they may face torture or persecution.
The government has already arrested 10 foreign nationals deemed to be a threat to national security, pending deportation to countries including Jordan, Algeria and Morocco.
New immigration rules coming into force next week will allow the government to deport individuals advocating violence, or justifying or glorifying terrorism.
However the Home Office has conceded these are unlikely to affect al-Massari as Saudi Arabia is not among countries with which Britain has signed a "memorandum of understanding" that returned individuals will not be mistreated.
But they have suggested that action could be taken against him by the Crown Prosecution Service for direct incitement to commit violent or criminal acts.
Al-Massari, who has lived in Britain since 1994, shows footage on his Web site of a suicide bomb attack on a British checkpoint in Iraq which killed three soldiers. The Web site also carries messages from al-Qaida leaders, including Osama bin Laden, and a guide to urban warfare for would-be terrorists.
