A Senior immigration judge at Special Immigration Appeals Commission yesterday ruled that Abu Qatada should not be deported and sent home to Jordan for fears that he would not receive a fair trial. He is wanted in Jordan on terrorism charges following a hate video found at the home of one of the September 11th bombers.
There has been a unanimous voice from the government and coalition vowing to change this verdict and have the cleric deported. There have been calls to put the case to the European Court, following the fact that highest UK court, The Supreme Court has deemed that Qatada should be returned to Jordan.So far the legal battle has lasted for ten years with legal fees and benefits totally £1 million. Qatada’ latest bail condition and surveillance plan will cost the taxpayer another £5 million a year. This includes the monitoring of him through an electronic tagging system and monitoring and restricting who he can meet.There is no telling how long the whole case could take, and while the Home Office plans to appeal the decision there is no guarantee that it will succeed and even if successful steps are taken, according to David Anderson, QC for the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation it could be years before the cleric is deported with years of costly litigation and dispute resolution.The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article. Setfords Solicitors are a national full service law firm, with dispute resolution and litigation Solicitors in Northampton and across the country.