Abu Qatada treaty ratified by UK

[Jimbuna]

Perhaps this crazy situation is actually coming to a conclusion.

The treaty agreed between Britain and Jordan, which is intended to pave the way for the deportation of Abu Qatada, has been signed into law in the UK.
The treaty will not come into force until other administrative formalities are completed, including Royal assent.
The document must also be published in an official newspaper in Jordan and there must be an exchange of diplomatic letters between the two countries.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23000847

[Herr-Berbunch]

So close. . .

I wonder if Tchocky can get the flight diverted to Israel first.

[Oberon]

All a bit daft really, creating treaties to circumnavigate British laws, makes you wonder...

[Herr-Berbunch]

I think the best phrase to suit the situation is from Mr Bumble via the pen of Charles Dickens (but from who before him I don't know) - The law is an ass.

[Jimbuna]

Whatever...just stop the burden to the Brit tax payers.

[Oberon]

Well, it's not as if we've never sent off undesirables to another country before to reduce the burden on the British taxpayer...

Perhaps this crazy situation is actually coming to a conclusion.

I doubt it, by getting an agreement that evidence obtained by torture will not be used in legal proceedings they have taken away all the evidence which supported the request for extradition in the first place.

All a bit daft really, creating treaties to circumnavigate British laws, makes you wonder...

Its all very daft, and very dodgy.

[bertieck476]

Is it that dodgy ? the parasitic hate mongerer has said he will go if the treaty is agreed by both countries.

[STEED]

zzz zzz zzz zzz zzz zzz zzz



Wake me up when he really has gone for good.

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by bertieck476

Is it that dodgy ? the parasitic hate mongerer has said he will go if the treaty is agreed by both countries.

It boils down to human rights, now in this instance you might say that he does not deserve those rights, but it is the principle of the matter, you cannot break the law for one person and then uphold it for another. The law is supposed to be universal, across the board, for all people, be they BNP, Islamic extremists or Mr Patel from the shop down the road. In this case the law is supposed to discourage evidence gathered from torture, as, after all, if you're being pumped full of high voltage then you'll say anything they want you to say in order to stop them from hurting you.
Now, in this instance, a great deal of the case against Qatada by the Jordan judicial system is based upon evidence gained through torture, therefore if this treaty means that the evidence gained through torture is being discounted from the trial, then all Qatada is going to get is a all expenses paid trip to Jordan, a brief stay at a Jordanian prison and then released again because the case has nothing to work on.
Likewise, if the British government decides to violate Article six of the European Convention of Human Rights (a Convention that has been in place for 50 years) as well as the United Nations Convention against Torture, and just send him to Jordan and to hell with it, then they will have public support for it because the media has had over a decade to build a nice picture of Qatada as some sort of Satanic priest, however they will politically be joining a very specific club which is inhabited by nations such as the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Vietnam, Burma, and Iran. Is that the sort of company we want to keep in relation to human rights? Really?

So, yes, it's all a bit daft and at the end of the day will probably cost a lot more in both finance and political difficulty, than it would have been to just leave him in a British nick and forget about him. However the government wants to score points with The Sun and Daily Mail readers who just see red (pardon the pun) whenever Qatada is mentioned.

[bertieck476]

I agree with what you have written and it would seem that the recent uk governments have gone down the route of keeping the right side of the law hence the delays in getting him deported after appeal after appeal. But if the Jordanians have agreed to the treaty the uk can send him back with a clear conscience and he will be dealt with accordingly by the Jordanian legal system, whatever the outcome of that he will not be here.

[BossMark]

Originally Posted by STEED

zzz zzz zzz zzz zzz zzz zzz



Wake me up when he really has gone for good.

If our useless home secretary's past reputation as anything to go by then I am afraid you will be sleeping a very long time STEED.

[Spiced_Rum]

Originally Posted by BossMark

If our useless home secretary's past reputation as anything to go by then I am afraid you will be sleeping a very long time STEED.

April 1999 - The cleric is convicted in his absence on terror charges in Jordan and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Labour government Home Secretaries from 02 May 1997 to 12 May 2012
Jack Straw, David Blunkett, Charles Clarke, John Reid, Jacqui Smith, and Alan Johnson.

I think something could have been done sooner. The whole case has dragged on far too long. If only the British had an equivalent of Gitmo.

[Jimbuna]

We have....it's called Parliament.

[Spiced_Rum]

That would be real torture. Forced to watch every minute of Parliament. Although they do get a long summer recess because they work so hard and to save expenses.