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Britain

UK sought pardon for Abu Qatada, judges told

2012-10-11

British Home Office ministers sought a pardon for Jordanian terror suspect Abu Qatada in an effort to deport him from the UK. James Brokenshire, then the security minister, asked Jordanian ministers in February if the radical cleric could be pardoned if returned. Even when Brokenshire was told this was not possible, the Government had a "plan B" to research when the King of Jordan could issue such a pardon, an immigration appeals tribunal heard. Anthony Layden, the former British ambassador to Libya, revealed details of the talks which occured in a meeting in Jordan on February 14. Under cross-examination by Edward Fitzgerald QC, for Qatada, Layden agreed that the possibility of a pardon for Qatada had been explored. He said, "I think the question of a pardon had been asked earlier and Mr Brokenshire was asking for an answer." The pardon was being sought because the evidence against Qatada was "granted by torture", Layden agreed. Layden also said simple assurances from the Jordanian government that evidence obtained by torture would not be used were never going to be enough to deport him since it was a matter for the prosecutors and the courts, not the government. The British Government also asked Jordanian prosecutors if they would give "an undertaking in advance that they would not rely on the statements" gained through torture, but the Jordanians refused. An attempt to get the State Security Court to rule on the admissibility of the statements before Qatada is deported was also rejected.

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Britain

UK secretly bowed to Libya in 2006

2009-09-14

[Iran Press TV Latest] Britain's Foreign Office has 'secretly' bowed down to Libyan pressure, sparing the life of a Libyan who had shot dead a British policewoman 25 years ago. The policewoman, Yvonne Fletcher, was monitoring a demonstration by Libyan protesters, when an assailant opened fire on the crowd targeting eleven people. Fletcher was among those injured in London's St. James' Square, and died an hour after she was shot. A "secret deal" was signed in 2006 to ease the negotiation of lucrative trade deals worth hundreds of millions of pounds with Libya, The Times Online daily reported on Sunday. The deal, which ensures that the attacker will not be prosecuted on British soil, was signed between the Libyan government and Britain's former ambassador to Libya Anthony Layden. The agreement was arranged with the approval of then foreign office secretary Jack Straw, who is now the UK Justice Secretary. The British Foreign Office claimed that "the Fletcher family know all this and have not considered it to be a big issue." This is while Fletcher's mother, Queenie, said she was shocked about the claim saying, "We were never told they'd agreed to this. No, never." Yvonne's sister Heather said that the family was only informed that should any trial take place, it will be held in Libya. The scandal is expected to infuriate critics, who have been opposing to the UK government's decision to release the terminally ill Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, who was put on a private plane to Tripoli in August.

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Britain

UK Signs Memorandum Of Understanding With Libya

2005-10-27

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office can announce that the UK Government has today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Libya to facilitate deportation of persons suspected of activities associated with terrorism. The MOU was signed in Tripoli by Her Majesty's Ambassador to Libya, Anthony Layden and the Libyan Acting Secretary for European Affairs, Abdulati Ibrahim al-Obidi. The Government believes that the assurances provided by this type of MOU should enable the British Courts to allow the deportation of foreign nationals who threaten national security or whose presence is not conducive to the public good; and that such deportations will uphold the UK's international obligations. Sounds like a good idea to me. If you work it right, maybe you can dump anybody with a turban and a detonator in Libya and let them handle the problem. I'm sure Muammar could think of something he'd like you to do in return.

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Britain

UK jugging Libyan hard boyz

2005-10-24

A number of Libyan fundamentalists residing in Britain fear they will be deported to Tripoli following the memorandum of understanding that London and Tripoli concluded recently and which requires the British authorities to hand over to their Libyan counterparts persons suspected of having connections with terrorism under guarantees that they will not be ill treated. Libyan Ambassador in London Muhammad Al-Zaway has asked Britain to hand over to Libya members of the "Libyan Islamic Fighting Group" (LIFG) on the basis that they "pose a threat" to Britain's security. A Libyan Islamist told Asharq al-Awsat that the number of LIFG leaders is nearly in the dozens and the British police arrested five of them at the beginning of this month in preparation for deporting them to Libya under the new British plan for combating terrorism. He added that Libya gave London after the 9/11 attacks a list of the names of 25 (LIFG) elements residing in Britain. On his part, Libyan Islamist Numan Bin-Othman, an expert in fundamentalist movements, expressed his conviction that the British authorities are serious about deporting LIFG elements and pointed out that the arrest of five of them was a message to the supporters of the Libyan jihadist tendency or the fundamentalist one in general that Scotland Yard police would not tolerate any activities considered tantamount to "backing or preparing for terrorism." The Libyan Islamist did not appear sure of the measures that Tony Blair's Government might resort to following its adoption of the new antiterrorism measures. Bin-Othman, the asylum seeker who has been living in Britain for 10 years, said the picture is vague and bleak, especially after the London bombings that created turmoil in British society. But he did say he was expecting British traditions to triumph in the end so that no one would be extradited to another country. He said: "If the British law is applied to the letter, then no one of the Libyan fundamentalists will be extradited." Ashur al-Shamis, the Libyan opposition jurist who runs the "Akhbar Libya" (Libya news) website, called Libya's demand for the extradition of the LIFG elements an exploitation of events in Britain since the 7 July bombings and said: "The real fears are the absence of a real and honest judiciary in Libya if the Islamists seeking political asylum in London are deported." AFP yesterday cited the Libyan ambassador in London as saying, "we believe that all the LIFG members should be handed over to the Libyan authorities and not just a number of them because their presence will sooner or later pose a danger to Britain's security due to their connections with Al-Qaeda organization." He added that this group "believes in violence and therefore the general rules that apply to the terrorist organizations apply to it." He pointed out that this "group's members are living on British soil and specifically in Belfast, Manchester, and south London." The Libyan ambassador did not rule out "the trial of the wanted persons that Britain will extradite to Libya if they are wanted by the judiciary in Libya or had committed terrorist actions." He added: "Anyone with no criminal record will be welcomed among his family and his country." He also said that Libya "has not received anyone so far" and that the "agreement concluded with Britain stipulates that the front's members will not be tortured or sentenced to death and that their personal and civil rights will be guaranteed." He asserted that the Libyan authorities "do not hate anyone and there is a difference between a devout man and an extremist who carries out terrorist actions." The British Government signed last Tuesday an agreement with Libya that allows Britain to deport to Libya foreigners suspected of involvement in terrorism that included a guarantee they will not be ill treated. The memorandum of understanding was signed in Tripoli by British Ambassador Anthony Layden and the Libyan Foreign Ministry official in charge AbdalAti Ibrahim al-Ubaydi, according to a British Foreign Office statement. This is the first of agreements that Britain wishes to sign with other countries that lift the ban on the deportation of foreigners suspected of involvement in terrorism.

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