Abu Hamza can be Extradited to US to Face Terrorism Charges

The radical cleric Abu Hamza can be extradited to the US to face terrorism charges, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled.

Hamza, currently serving a seven-year sentence in prison for soliciting to murder and inciting racial hatred, had been fighting extradition, saying he would face inhumane conditions if sent to the US.

The US has accused Hamza, who was granted British citizenship in 1986, of being in contact with Taliban and al-Qaida terrorists, is wanted on 11 charges related to the taking of 16 hostages in Yemen in 1998 - an incident which resulted in the death of three Britons - promoting violent jihad in Afghanistan in 2001 and attempting to set up a jihad training camp in Oregon in 1999.

The American authorities have described Egyptian-born Hamza as a "terrorist facilitator with a global reach".

The court sanctioned the extradition of Hamza and five other men held in the UK, including Babar Ahmad, who the US claims ran a website which raised funds for Islamic extremists.

The other men who will also be extradited are Haroon Aswat, Talha Ahsan and Adel Abdul Bary. Ahsan is accused along with Ahmad of various offences, including supporting terrorists and conspiracy to kill and maim. Aswat is accused of conspiring to help Hamza set up the jihad training camp in Oregan.

The court adjourned the case of Khaled Al-Fawwaz because further submissions are needed about his schizophrenia and detention at Broadmoor Hospital.

The Strasbourg court declared there would be no violation of human rights against the men if extradited to America. They had previously argued they could be held in solitary confinement a high-security prison in Colorado, known as a 'supermax' prison with little or no prospect of ever being released.

The full ECHR ruling over extradition of Hamza and the other men can be found here.