LONDON, 12 March 2005 — A cleric who has been accused of being Osama Bin Laden’s “spiritual ambassador in Europe,” was among eight foreign terror suspects who were granted bail yesterday after being imprisoned for up to three years under Britain’s emergency anti-terrorism laws.
The court ruling, which imposed strict bail conditions on the eight men, came as Britain’s Parliament struggled to pass new powers to control the movement of suspected terrorists.
The suspects included Abu Qatada, a cleric accused by several European governments of having extensive contacts with terrorists worldwide, including links to Al-Qaeda.
Justice Duncan Ouseley set strict bail conditions for the eight men, including a nighttime curfew, restrictions on whom they can meet and on their access to mobile phones and the Internet. Qatada will also be prevented from preaching at mosques or leading prayers under the conditions of his bail.
Speaking to one detainee, identified only as P, Ouseley ordered him to obey the bail conditions, adding: “If you breach them, you will be liable to be returned to detention.”
The eight men were held under laws passed in Britain in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks in the United States, which allowed the indefinite detention of some foreign terror suspects without trial.
In December, Britain’s highest court ruled that the law was illegal and breached the European Convention on Human Rights. The powers under which the strict bail conditions are set expire on March 14.
After the 9/11 attacks, Qatada was named by the US Treasury as a terrorist supporter and his assets were frozen. Weeks after the attacks, he railed publicly against corrupt Western governments and spoke of his “respect” for Bin Laden.
Former British Home Secretary David Blunkett said Qatada’s sermons as an extremist preacher had been “an inspiration” for terrorists, including Mohammed Atta, the lead hijacker behind the Sept. 11 attacks.
The seven other freed men were Palestinian Mahmoud Suliman Ahmed Abu Rideh and detainees identified only as B, P, E, H, K and Q.
The bail conditions imposed on all the men order them to be fitted with electronic tags, to remain in their homes between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. and to telephone a monitoring company each time they enter or leave their residence.
