Abu Hamza may stand trial in Britain [Archives:2004/774/Front Page]

By Peter Willems
Yemen Times Staff
A radical Muslim cleric wanted by both the United States and Yemen may be charged for terrorist offenses in Great Britain.
Last week, British security officials handed over a file on Abu Hamza Al-Musri to the Crown Prosecution Service which will decide early next month if he will be charged under the Terrorism Act 2000.
Abu Hamza, who was once a speaker at Finsbury Park mosque in London, has been detained in Britain since last May. The United States has been trying to have the cleric extradited to America.
At the end of last month, anti-terrorist officers from the Metropolitan Police arrested Abu Hamza, suspected of being involved in financing, recruitment and logistics of Al-Qaeda affiliates in Britain.
If Abu Hamza is charged in Britain, it will override the possibility of an extradition to the United States.
“Since the United States and Great Britain have cases against Abu Hamza, it is not very likely that he will be extradited to Yemen,” said a Yemeni analyst.
The Yemeni government has had a warrant for the arrest of Abu Hamza since 1999. Over the last three years, Yemen has been asking the British government for his extradition, but the requests have been denied.
Abu Hamza is wanted in Yemen on charges of being involved in terrorist activities while being based in Britain. He is believed to have participated in the kidnapping of 17 foreign tourists in Yemen six years ago. Four of the hostages were killed during a rescue attempt carried out by the Yemeni army.
British Home Secretary David Blunkett has said that Britain would not send Abu Hamza to Yemen because he could possibly face the death penalty. Britain has a ban on the death penalty and sending suspects to countries that apply capital punishment.
If Abu Hamza is extradited to the United States, he will face an 11-count indictment. Along with being connected to the kidnapping in Yemen, Abu Hamza is accused of trying to put together a terrorist training camp in Oregon in 1999. He is also accused of recruiting at least one man to an Al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan and providing material support to Al-Qaeda in 1999 and 2000. It is believed that Abu Hamza, who was born in Egypt as Mustafa Kamel Mustafa and holds a British passport, was the spiritual leader of Richard Reid who tried to detonate a shoe bomb on a flight from Paris to Miami in 2001. It is also believed that Abu Hamza had an association with Zacarias Moussaoui who is being tried in a US federal court on terrorist charges.
Last month, the Yemeni government asked the British government to extradite Abu Issa Al-Hindi, also known as Bilal, for being involved in the kidnapping of foreigners in 1998. Al-Hindi was arrested by British officials as a suspected Al-Qaeda member. Yemen authorities have been searching for Al-Hindi for the last five years.
When Abu Hamza was sent to a high-security prison in London last May, the Yemeni government demanded his extradition. Director General of the Ministry of Interior Mohieddine Al-Dabi said that the government was pushing for Abu Hamza to be sent to Yemen and stand trial for his connection with the kidnapping in 1998.
Last Friday, Abu Hamza attended a court in London through a video link while he remained in prison. According to a US lawyer, if Abu Hamza is not charged in Britain, an extradition hearing will start on October 19th.
——
[archive-e:774-v:13-y:2004-d:2004-09-20-p:front]