LONDON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- The European Court of Human Rights has ruled Abu Qatada, once called Osama bin Laden's right hand man in Europe, can't be deported from Britain to Jordan.
In its ruling released Tuesday, the court said Qatada wouldn't receive a fair trial if he were returned to his home country of Jordan, where he faces charges that he planned bomb attacks on two hotels, and provided advice and money for another series of bombings to coincide with the millennium, The Daily Telegraph in Britain reported.
The court said the deportation would violate Qatada's right to a fair trial under Article Six of the European Convention of Human Rights, "given the real risk of the admission of evidence obtained by torture at his retrial."
The judges in Strasbourg, France, upheld the British government's strategy of trying to deport international terror suspects to countries that have given diplomatic assurances that they won't face torture or inhuman or degrading treatment, The Guardian said. But the court said there was a real risk that evidence obtained by torture would be used against Qatada, amounting to a "flagrant denial of justice."
Qatada, 51, real name is Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, was convicted twice in Jordan in absentia. The cases were to be retried.
The court said it found torture was widespread in Jordan, as was the use of evidence obtained by torture in Jordanian courts. Lacking assurances by Jordan that the torture evidence would not be used against Qatada, the court ruled his deportation to Jordan for a retrial would be a denial of justice in violation of Article Six.
The British government has a three-month window to request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the Court for a final judgment, the Telegraph said.
"I am disappointed that the court has made this ruling," Home Secretary Theresa May said. "This is not the end of the road, and we will now consider all the legal options available to us. In the meantime, Qatada will remain in detention in the U.K. It is important to note that this ruling does not prevent us seeking to deport other foreign nationals."
