TERRORISM: U.S. Indicts British Muslim Cleric

Radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza was arrested this thursday in London and accused of trying to establish a "violent jihad training camp" in Oregon. He also faces 11 charges in connection with an attack in Yemen in December 1998.




Other Sources:
U.S. indicts cleric
U.S. Slaps Al Qaeda-Linked Cleric With 11 Charges
Hamza indicted on 11 terror charges
U.S. Indicts Muslim Cleric for Supporting Al Qaeda
Hamza facing 11 US terror charges
Radical Muslim cleric arrested in Britain
London police seize radical Muslim cleric


Related Articles:
Hamza: Attorney General's Statement in Full
Extradition 'could take months'
Q&A: Abu Hamza extradition process
Profile: Abu Hamza, the radical Muslim cleric
Abu Hamza: Controversial Muslim figure
Profile: Abu Hamza


[Edited on 27-5-2004 by Ocelot]

[Edited on 27-5-2004 by SkepticOverlord]

[Edited on 29-5-2004 by Ocelot]

I don't know if he'll be extradited.

I wouldn't hold your breath.

First,One of the charges is conspiracy to take hostages in the Yemen (He gave on of the hostage takers a mobile phone) Legally,I'm not sure Richard Ashcroft has jurisdiction over the Yemen.

Ashcroft also stressed that Hostage taking can carry the death penalty.The British won't extradite him without cast iron guarantees that this will not happen.

I listened to the press briefing.It just sounded like a cobbled together case.Which is a shame because I'm sure there are a couple of crimes the U.S can try him for but it sounded very amateurish piling as many bogus crimes on as they could.

[Edited on 27-5-2004 by John bull 1]

You can keep him too and bloody good riddance !

I am all for freedom of speech and the liberty of the people, but when some bloke is preaching the annihalation of western democracies and praising the instigators of mass murder (9/11) it really makes you just wanna slot the guy !

I agree Argus.I'd like to get rid of him too but not on trumped up charges.

The U.S Attorney General guilded the lily somewhat.

Too true, too true

I speak purely from a point of frustration, thats all. The very rights that we fight to protect and choose to live our lives by are the very same ones that allow these type of people to flourish within our societies. I agree that I wouldnt like to see any laws infringed or rights ignored just to see the back of this hook handed get, but sometimes ................. you know where im coming from !

The way you feel is completely understandable, Argus, but I personally am concerned abou the idea of the U.S. arresting people extra-jurisdictionally. Why, what if the U.S. gov't decides that this very post I am writing is unaccptable? The could come into my house, arrest me, pulling me from the keyabuijdafkhdsaufik;hdsds help! help!

Just kidding.

But seriously, I heard today that the US has decided two terrorists are people with Canadian passports. Now, I believe this was decided in a secret court, and we Canadians don't get to look at the evidence against these people... meaning, what? That the US should be able to come in any time it wants, without evidence, and arrest any Canadian citizens it likes? I can't approve of that. My Canada may include Accordion Guy, but it does not include arbitrary arrests by a foreign power.

Now they should put him in front of a video camera with a orange suit on and cut his head off for all his Muslim friends to see

Its my understanding that to actually arrest this guy and to get him out of the UK and over to the US, There will have to be an extradition hearing where the US authorities will have to produce "evidence of evidence" to the court.

Like it or not this waster of valuable oxygen is a British citizen and thus accorded all the protection of the crown. We may be a shadow of our former selves but we still hold enough political power to stop any country coming in and arresting our citizens without due process.

Having said that, once the evidence is presented and verified, I hope they fly him to the U.S on the same aircraft that an 'administrative error' just happens to contain 200 GI's returning from active service in the Gulf ! That would be seven hours of in flight entertainment I would happily pay to see !!!

That or just put him in one of our prisons here in the US.
Trust me I counsel men who have been raped in our prisons, and what happens to them is FAR worse than what happened in the prisons in Iraq. And it happens far more often than most people imagine. Trust me, being made naked on a leash beats the gang rapes in the showers or the fact that guards often let a rape occur to ensure the prisoners are humbled and beaten down.

Just put him in our prison system, he will wish we beheaded him. Just don't let him sit in a British jail for ever waiting on extradition. If he committed crimes here lets get him here and try him now. No more limbo, we need to see some of these scum tried and sentenced.

I can completely understand some peoples blood lust, believe me I'm not utterly unsympathetic to the "shoot the bastards and let God take care of the details" crowd But even in Hamza's case your still talking about going into another country, taking one of its citizens who has so far not been deemed to be acting against the law by the country he is a national of, taking him back to your own country and locking him up in the US legal system till he is proved guilty or indeed innocent of conspiracy to aid terrorists.

I don't like Hanza any more than I like Nick Griffin... In fact part of me would love to shove both of them in a room with a couple of Chainsaws, but just because the US is currently paranoid about "Terrorists" doesn't mean we should throw away our legal principals.

Just to get the facts straight, the US did not ARREST this scumbag. They INDICTED him; it was up to the UK to ARREST him. Now that he UK has ARRESTED him, the US will attempt to EXTRADITE him to the US to formally be ARRAIGNED on the charges.

It is expected that the UK will oppose extradition on the grounds that some of the charges carry the death penalty.

Ashcroft has stated that he will not seek the death penalty.

That removes the only "ethical" obstacle the UK Government had.

Good riddance to such scum, Bush is welcome to do as he wants with him.

Its only a pity that there are 100`s of his ilk lining up to take his place.

Hamza is a peddeler of hate and a backer of murderers. I have no time for people like him. That's all I will say on this subject.

I like this picture of him, he looks like a regular pirate.
"Harrrrr! Cap'n Jack Black At Yer Service"

Seem like anyone can be a cleric huh? His job before becoming a Cleric.

He was a bouncer at a night club. He also preached that the columbia Shuttle disaster was because ALLAH was getting back a Christians and Jews because they were both on that flight. WACKO!!!

Looks like a James Bond Villian

[Edited on 27-5-2004 by ShiftTrio]

JayKew

Ashcroft has stated that he will not seek the death penalty.

This must be recent news - do you have a link? I hadn't heard about this.

Life in prison is a terrible punishment. But I hope he is kept in solitary confinement - else he can poison the minds of other inmates who may be released one day.

If we could just get one FBI agent in every Mosque, we could get them all. Of couse they couldn't do that publically, but I wouldn't be suprised if they are going that route.

Originally posted by weirdo
Now they should put him in front of a video camera with a orange suit on and cut his head off for all his Muslim friends to see

Nah a quick death is too kind. How about a continual blood transfusion from live swine until he expires. Oh, nevermind they got in trouble for doing that at Abu Ghraib.

Originally posted by jsobecky

Life in prison is a terrible punishment. But I hope he is kept in solitary confinement - else he can poison the minds of other inmates who may be released one day.

I just saw a report where officials believe that they may indeed be trying to recruit inmates disenfranchised with they system as the are the most vunerable.

[Edited on 28-5-2004 by outsider]

Pity we didn't just bugger him off back to Egypt years ago. Still, better late than never I suppose. And if he comes to Oregon himself, he'll get a red hot poker courtesy of Pisky.


[Edited on 28-5-2004 by Pisky]

Originally posted by John bull 1

I listened to the press briefing.It just sounded like a cobbled together case.Which is a shame because I'm sure there are a couple of crimes the U.S can try him for but it sounded very amateurish piling as many bogus crimes on as they could.

This is exactly what I thought.

It makes you wonder whether the British government realised it would take years to deport this piece of pond scum so decided (with US help) on a back door approach. Got to say, kudos to the government. This man is pure evil and deserves to fry for the hatred and anti-western sentiment he preached.

Originally posted by dbates
I like this picture of him, he looks like a regular pirate.
"Harrrrr! Cap'n Jack Black At Yer Service"

LMAO