Britain, Jordan in deportation deal
Jordan has signed an agreement with Britain that enables British courts to deport Jordanians who incite or condone acts of terrorism in preaching or writing.
Under the agreement, Jordan would have to guarantee the deportee would not be tortured or otherwise mistreated at home and would not face the death penalty.
The agreement signed in Amman by British embassy officials and Jordanian Interior Minister Awni Yarfas is part of Britain’s sweeping anti-terror plans after London bombings on 7 July which killed 52 people along with the four bombers.
The plans include powers to expel foreign nationals who incite terrorism, shut down mosques breeding “fanaticism” and blacklist clerics, websites and bookshops.
Britain hopes to reach similar arrangements with other countries.
One cleric who has come under fire for his sermons is Abu Qatada, a Jordanian-Palestinian, who has been convicted in absentia in Jordan for bomb plots there.
British authorities say 18 videotapes of his sermons were found in an apartment in Germany used by three of the hijackers who carried out the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States.
British courts must first rule on any deportation.