UK: Cleric arrested to be deported to Jordan
LONDON (AP) -- A radical Islamist cleric has been arrested in Britain and told the country's government will resume attempts to deport him to his native Jordan following a protracted legal battle.
Authorities have been attempting to deport Abu Qatada, a Palestinian-Jordanian preacher described in both Spanish and British courts as a leading al-Qaida figure in Europe, since 2005 claiming he poses a risk to national security.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in January that Abu Qatada could not be deported because of a risk that evidence obtained through torture would be used against him in Jordan in a looming trial on terrorism charges.
Britain's government now believes new assurances from Jordan over the cleric's right to a fair trial mean his deportation can go ahead.
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