Radical Muslim Cleric Abu Qatada Cleared of Terrorism Charges in Jordan
Radical Islamic preacher Abu Qatada has been acquitted of terrorism charges by a Jordanian court. He was deported to the Middle Eastern kingdom from the U.K. in 2013. On Wednesday, a court in the capital Amman found him not guilty of plotting to carry out terrorist attacks on Western and Israeli targets in Jordan during millennium New Year celebrations, reports the BBC. He was accused of providing "spiritual support" through his writings to those alleged to have plotted the attacks. In June, the 53-year-old cleric was also cleared of a conspiracy to attack an American school in Amman. Abu Qatada had been involved in a decadelong legal battle in the U.K. Government ministers repeatedly tried to deport him to Jordan so he could face the charges in his home country, but judges were concerned he could face torture if repatriated. After the U.K. and Jordan signed a deal in 2013 stating evidence gathered against Abu Qatada obtained by British deportees in Jordan could not be used, British Home Secretary Theresa May secured his deportation. "It is right that the due process of law has taken place in Jordan," a spokesperson for the Home Office told the BBC. In 1994, Abu Qatada was granted asylum in the U.K. but officials quickly saw him as a security threat. British judges called him a "truly dangerous individual  at the centre in the United Kingdom of terrorist activities associated with al-Qaeda," reports the BBC. BBC