 A spokesman claiming to represent al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings last month of four Europeans in Mali and Mauritania. The claim was made in an audiotape obtained by Al Jazeera on Tuesday. "Two units of the valiant mujahedeen managed to kidnap four Europeans in two distinct operations: the first in Mali where Frenchman Pierre Camatte was seized on November 25, and the second in Mauritania where three Spaniards were held on November 29," the spokesman, who identified himself as Saleh Abu Mohammad, said on the tape. He added that "France and Spain will be informed later of the legitimate demands of the mujahedeen", but did not go into detail about the demands. Camatte, the kidnapped Frenchman, was snatched from a hotel in the Sahel region of northern Mali on the night of November 25. The three kidnapped Spaniards were working as volunteers in Mauritania delivering humanitarian aid when they were kidnapped on November 29. They have been named as Albert Vilalta, 35, Alicia Gamez, 35, and Roque Pascual, 50. Earlier this year a US-based monitoring group reported that AQIM had claimed responsibility for killing Briton Edwin Dyer, one of a group of six Westerners kidnapped in Niger in January. The group had said threatened to kill Dyer unless the British government released Abu Qatada, a Muslim cleric, from a UK prison. Al Jazeera 
 SOME of Britain’s most dangerous Al-Qaeda leaders are promoting jihad from inside high-security prisons by smuggling out propaganda for the internet and finding recruits. In an authoritative report, Quilliam, a think tank funded by the Home Office, claims “mismanagement” by the Prison Service is helping AlQaeda gain recruits and risks “strengthening jihadist movements”. Abu Qatada, described by MI5 as “Osama Bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe”, has published fatwas — religious rulings — on the internet from Long Lartin prison, in Worcestershire, calling for holy war and the murder of moderate Muslims, it reveals. Abu Doha — said to be Al-Qaeda’s main recruiter in Europe — has taken courses in Belmarsh prison, south London, enabling him to mentor other inmates. Dame Pauline Neville-Jones, shadow security minister, said prisons risked becoming “incubators of extremism”. Qatada, a radical Islamist cleric who is wanted on terrorism charges in Jordan, is held in the the “supermax” segregation wing of Long Lartin. Built at the height of the IRA’s bombing campaign and designed to house dangerous inmates, it should be one of the most secure buildings in the country. Like other jailed terrorist leaders, Qatada is meant to be cut off from his supporters outside. Yet it is said that last year, under the noses of warders, Qatada and Adel Abdel Bary, leader of the UK branch of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, were able to smuggle out a series of fatwas legitimising attacks by AlQaeda and endorsing the murder of moderate Muslims. Qatada and Bary are two of about 100 Islamist terrorists in UK prisons. Many are held in supposedly top-security jails such as Belmarsh, Frankland in Co Durham and Woodhill in Milton Keynes, for inciting or plotting attacks in which hundreds of people could have died. More at Times Online
 Gotcha again, kuffarAmman, 19 Feb. (AKI) - Radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada has been awarded 2,500 pounds (3,600 dollars) in compensation by the European Court of Human Rights. The court's judges ruled on Thursday that his detention without trial in the United Kingdom under anti-terrorism laws had breached his human rights. After his arrest last year, he was subjected to a domestic curfew and then detained in London's Belmarsh high security prison. On Wednesday, the upper house of the British parliament, sitting as Britain's highest court, unanimously ruled that Abu Qatada could be deported from the UK to his native Jordan where he faces jail for terrorism. Jordan's justice minister, Ayman Awda, told Arab satellite TV network, Al-Jazeera, that Qatada has nothing to fear if he is deported home to Jordan. The 48-year-old cleric, once described by a judge as 'Osama Bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe' is still in London's Belmarsh prison. Britain's interior ministry has long campaigned for Qatada's deportation. Qatada's convictions in Jordan relate to an alleged conspiracy to bomb hotels in the capital Amman along with allegedly providing finance and advice for other plots. "Like every accused, Qatada will receive a fair trial," Awda said. "If his deportation has been delayed, it has been only because he is seeking legal recourse through the European Court of Human rights." Read more ...Source: AKIH/T: Jihad Watch
European Court of Human Rights
Latest recipient of The Dhimmi Award
 London, 18 Feb.
Radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada will be deported from Britain on terrorism charges and could be sent back to his native Jordan, despite fears he may be tortured there. The upper house of the British parliament, sitting as Britain's highest court, unanimously rejected an appeal from Qatada against being repatriated to Jordan, where he faces jail for terrorism.
Qatada had claimed that his conviction in Jordan was based on evidence extracted by torture.
The 48-year-old cleric, once described by a judge as 'Osama Bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe' is currently in London's Belmarsh high security prison.
Britain's interior ministry has long campaigned for Qatada's deportation and interior minister Jacqui Smith said she was "delighted" at the ruling.
Qatada's final removal may not take place until the European Court of Human Rights hears his case.
Campaign group Amnesty International criticised the ruling, saying there was a real risk that Qatada would be tortured.
Human Rights Watch also criticised the ruling, saying it damaged the global ban on torture.
"The Law Lords have given the government a green light to send people back to places where they risk torture and ill-treatment," said HRW's senior counter-terrorism adviser Julia Hall.
"Jordanian military courts are not independent and evidence is obtained by the use of torture," Hall added.
The Law Lords also ruled on Wednesday that two unnamed Algerian terrorism suspects would be deported to Algeria, another country where there is well-documented evidence that prisoners have been tortured.
Qatada was first arrested in the wake of Al-Qaeda's 9/11 attacks on the United States amid allegations that he was one of the most influential Islamist preachers in Europe and played a critical ideological role.
The Jordanian father-of-five, whose real name is Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, claimed asylum when he arrived in Britain in September 1993 on a forged passport.
A Spanish judge investigating the deadly 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings described him as Osama Bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe.
Qatada issued a 1995 fatwa or religious edict justifying the killing of converts from Islam, their wives and children in Algeria. In a 1999 sermon, he called for the killing of Jews and praised attacks on Americans. The same year, Qatada was convicted in his absence of planning terrorist attacks in Jordan.
Videos of Qatada's sermons were also found in the flats of some of the 9/11 hijackers in Amsterdam. He was arrested by British anti-terror police in February 2008 and found in possession of nearly 200,000 euros in cash, including 1,000 euros in an envelope marked 'for the mujahadeen in Chechnya'.
In 2008 a British appeals court blocked Qatada's removal after accepting his argument that he had not faced a fair trial in his absence.
He was released on bail - but then re-arrested and returned to prison because security officials said they had intelligence that he was considering fleeing the UK.
Qatada's convictions in Jordan relate to an alleged conspiracy to bomb hotels in the capital Amman along with allegedly providing finance and advice for other plots. Source: Adnkronos
First Place (7 points):
CAIR
Second (5 points):
Anjem Choudary / Sami al-Arian
Fourth Place (4 points):
Keith Ellison / Mohamed Elmasry / Yusuf al Qaradawi
Seventh Place (3 points):
Abu Qatada / CIC / Ingrid Mattson / ISNA / Jawhar Badran (posthumous) / Mahmoud Abbas / Mohammad Qatanani / Omar Bakri Muhammed Source: Muslims Against Sharia Blog
 Meeting: Hate preacher Abu Qatada (left)
with car bomb terrorist Yasser Al-SirriBy James Slack Abu Qatada's bail conditions were under review last night after security experts said allowing the hate preacher to associate with a convicted terrorist made a 'mockery' of the rules. Home Office officials are investigating the Daily Mail's exclusive picture showing Qatada - dubbed 'Osama Bin Laden's ambassador in Europe' - strolling through London with fellow fanatic Yasser Al-Sirri. Incredibly, Al-Sirri, who was convicted in Egypt and sentenced to death in absentia for his part in a 1993 car bomb attack - was not included on a list of more than 20 extremists with whom the preacher of hate is banned from associating. Whitehall sources said the Home Office is reviewing the evidence to see whether there are grounds to ask the courts to add Al-Sirri to the list. They will also investigate claims that Qatada, whose bail conditions forbid the use of a mobile phone, was using Al-Sirri to pass on messages. The Mail's picture, first published on Saturday, appeared to show Al-Sirri talking into a mobile after listening to an instruction from Qatada, who is under a 22-hour curfew. Describing the bail conditions as 'nonsense', Tory MP Patrick Mercer, a security adviser to the Prime Minister, said: 'Yasser Al-Sirri is a dangerous individual. The fact he is allowed to associate with Abu Qatada makes a mockery of Qatada's bail conditions. 'The Home Office has got to stop its tinkering and ensure that proper checks and measures are in place to protect the public from extremists. That includes adding Al-Sirri to the list of those Qatada cannot associate with.' Read more ...Source: Daily MailAbu Qatada
Latest recipient of the Distinguished Islamofascist Award
 Danger to the UK: Radical cleric Abu QatadaBy Ruth Dudley Edwards The picture on today's Mail Online website says it all. Abu Qatada, wanted by Jordan for involvement in terrorist attacks, strolls down a London street, carrying groceries paid for by the British taxpayer. Beside him, on a mobile phone, apparently acting as a go-between, is Yasser Al-Sirri, wanted by Egypt for aiding an assassination attempt in 1993 of the then Prime Minister with a car bomb, which instead killed a young girl. Both these men despise the country that is sheltering them. To Qatada, it is the duty of Muslims to kill non-Muslims. Al-Sirri refers to the 'impotence and criminal nature' of the British government. Well, he's right about the impotence. The decent people of this country want hate-mongers like these thrown out, but the Government seems powerless. Between the human rights industry and a judiciary that appears more concerned about perpetrators than victims, foreign extremists are a protected species. In the case of Qatada, the immigration authorities, the police, the security services, the judiciary and the politicians have been almost criminal in their failure to deal with a ruthless fanatic. Read more ...Source: Daily MailRuth Dudley Edwards
Latest recipient of The MASH Award
 Out on bail: Prayer beads in hand, Al Qaeda's ambassador
in Europe takes a stroll to the shops near his homeBy David Williams The picture is an affront to all victims of terrorism and their families. Abu Qatada, Al Qaeda's ambassador in Europe, strolls along a busy London street fondling his prayer beads. This is the first photograph of the greying 47-year-old - said to be one of the world's most dangerous terrorist suspects - since he was released on bail from a high-security prison after the courts ordered that he could not be sent home to Jordan because his human rights would have been breached. It was taken on July 7, hours after the families and friends of the 52 innocent people killed in the London transport suicide bombings three years ago remembered their loved ones at a memorial service. The radical cleric was freed three weeks ago when a judge ruled that there were no grounds to detain him after previous attempts to deport him to Jordan, where he was convicted of terror attacks and bomb plots, were defeated in the courts. Described by another judge as 'a truly dangerous individual', he remains an iconic figure for many supporters of jihad. Lawyers successfully argued in the Court of Appeal that Qatada could stay because evidence used against him in any prosecution in Jordan might have been obtained by torture - a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. The fanatical preacher, who was 20 stone but slimmed down on prison food, was pictured on a shopping trip near the £800,000 home he shares with his wife and children. Exact details of the location where the Qatada family are living on benefits of an estimated £50,000 a year are protected by court orders. Read more ...Source: Daily Mail
Abu Qatada:
The fanatic is accused of plotting atrocities in Jordan By Tom Kelly Abu Qatada is to receive almost £8,000 a year in benefits because he has a bad back. The fanatical cleric, said to be Osama Bin Laden’s ambassador in Europe, will get £150 a week of taxpayer’s cash after being released from jail last week. He was granted the incapacity benefit because his condition makes him unfit to work – even though a curfew allows him out of his home for only two hours a day, meaning it would be almost impossible for him to get a job. Qatada left Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire after the Appeal Court blocked his deportation to Jordan. He is now living in an £800,000 four-bedroom Edwardian semi in a tree-lined street in West London. His incapacity allowance will push the family’s total annual handouts to more than £50,000. His wife has been claiming £45,000 a year in child benefit, income support, housing benefit and council tax credit for the past four years. Steve Pound, Labour MP for Ealing North, which borders Qatada’s West London home, said: ‘This is adding insult to injury. He abuses us and bleeds us dry at the same time. ‘The sooner he gets back to Jordan the better. I for one would put him in the boot of my car and drive him there myself.’ Read more ...Source: Daily MailAbu Qatada
Latest recipient of the Distinguished Islamofascist Award
 By Stephen Wright Suspected Al Qaeda leader Abu Qatada is celebrating his release from prison with the release of a book in which he urges Muslims to commit terrorist attacks in the West. In the 71-page tract, published in English translation on the internet, he repeatedly claims that fighting jihad, holy war, is obligatory for all Muslims and urges them to 'terrorise' non-believers. Security sources say his clear incitement to violence makes a mockery of the decision to set him free. The preacher of hate, who has been described as Osama Bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe, was released on bail from Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire on Tuesday after the blocking of his deportation to Jordan, where he is wanted on terror charges. A judge ruled there were no grounds to keep him in jail, but the Special Immigration Appeals Commission imposed unprecedented conditions on his release, including a stipulation that he observe a 22-hour curfew and wear an electronic tag. He will be under round-the-clock surveillance in a MI5 safehouse and is specifically banned from contacting Bin Laden. Counter-terrorism officials believe that Qatada, 47, remains a grave threat to national security and will be furious to learn he has yet again flouted the law by publishing his sickening views as he is set free. Read more ...Source: Daily MailAbu Qatada
Latest recipient of the Distinguished Islamofascist Award
By Duncan Gardham Qatada, who is accused of giving advice and support to terrorists including the leader of the September 11 hijackers, has been described in official documents as a "truly dangerous individual" who was "heavily involved, indeed at the centre of terrorist activities associated with al-Qa'eda." He has been convicted twice in Jordan in his absence for conspiracy to carry out bomb attacks on two hotels in Amman in 1998, and providing finance and advice for a series of bomb attacks in Jordan planned to coincide with the Millennium. Read more ...Source: Telegraph
 Abu Qatada was sentenced to death in his absence in Jordan
in connection with a series of bombings in Amman in 1998By Sean O'Neill and Richard Ford An extremist Muslim cleric regarded as Osama bin Laden’s “spiritual ambassador in Europe” must be released on bail, a judge ruled yesterday. Abu Qatada, 48, who won his legal fight against deportation to Jordan last month, will be freed from prison under strict bail conditions, amounting to 22-hour house arrest, despite being deemed a threat to national security. The cleric applied to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) for bail on the ground that it was inhumane to detain him indefinitely if there was no prospect of his being deported. Read more ...Source: Times Online
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A spokesman claiming to represent al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings last month of four Europeans in Mali and Mauritania. 
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