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| Abu Qatada, a Cleric or a terrorist, expelled from Britain |
AMMAN: Just hours after Islamist cleric Abu Qatada’s deportation from Britain, he was pleaded not guilty to terror charges pressed by Jordanian military prosecutors.
The Palestinian-born preacher was expelled after a decade-long legal battle in Britain.
Abu Qatada, was often charged as right hand man of Osama bin Laden in Europe since 2002 and had been in and out of British prisons since 2002 despite he was never convicted of any offence there.
After a close trial, his defense lawyer Taysir Diab told AFP, “Abu Qatada pleaded not guilty, I will appeal tomorrow (Monday) to the (state security) court to release him on bail,” he added.
Abu Qatada was taken into custody just hours after he was flown in from Britain and taken to the courthouse near Marka military airfield in east Amman.
A judicial official told AFP that, “State security court prosecutors charged Abu Qatada with conspiracy to carry out terrorist acts,” he added that, “He was remanded in judicial custody for 15 days in the Muwaqqar prison”