AMMAN, Jordan, June 12 (UPI) -- Approval of a treaty with Jordan likely will jump start British efforts to deport radical Islamic cleric Abu Qatada, British government officials said.
The Jordanian Parliament voted to approve the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance, the BBC reported. It must still be signed by King Abdullah and adopted by the British Parliament, where a vote is expected later this month.
"The government has ratified the treaty as well as Parliament," Mohammad al-Momani, Jordan's information minister, said in a statement. "The Treaty is mutual legal assistance and can include any persons from each country."
Abu Qatada has been fighting a legal battle against deportation from Britain for eight years, winning rulings from British and European courts that he would face inhumane treatment in Jordan. The treaty guarantees that those deported to Jordan would receive a fair trial.
Home Secretary Theresa May is expected to issue a new deportation order as soon as the treaty gets final approval.
