Abu Hamza extradition halted

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LONDON, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- An English court halted the extradition of Abu Hamza al-Masri after the cleric offered a last-ditch appeal, a High Court spokesman said Wednesday.

Hamza is wanted in the United States to stand trial on terrorism charges dating to 1998.

The injunction temporarily stops the removal from Britain of the radical cleric and another suspect, Khaled al-Fawwaz, and is the latest in a protracted legal battle. The European Court of Human Rights had earlier rejected attempts to block the pair from being sent to the United States, ruling they and two other suspects can legally be extradited, the BBC said Wednesday.

Hamza and al-Fawwaz are scheduled to outline their appeals in hearings next week, court documents said.

"The judge has issued interim injunctions preventing removal prior to those hearings," a court spokesman said.

Hamza is wanted in the United States on various terrorist charges, including aiding the establishment of a terrorist training camp on U.S. soil in 1999. Fawwaz has been detained in Britain since 1998 after accusations of his involvement in the bombing of three U.S. embassies in East African capitals, the newspaper The Guardian said.