European Court Approves Extradition of Terror Suspects

Friday, April 13, 2012

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the United Kingdom can extradite five terror suspects to the United States. Perhaps the most prominent of the five suspects, Abu Hamza al-Masri, is accused of setting up a terrorist training camp in Oregon and of helping kidnap 16 foreign tourists in Yemen in 1998. He is currently serving a seven-year sentence for inciting hatred (Guardian) during his time as leader of London’s Finsbury Park mosque.

The five suspects challenged their extradition on the grounds that conditions at the high-security ADX Florence prison in Colorado would violate their human rights. In ruling against the accused, the European judges found that they would not be subject to any “ill-treatment” (MSNBC).  

 

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The full ruling by the European Court of Human Rights delayed judgment on the extradition of a sixth suspect, pending further information about his mental health.

A 2007 report from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe provides background on some of the issues surrounding counterterrorism extraditions (PDF).