Radical preacher Abu Hamza al-Masri is set to be extradited from imprisonment in the UK to face trial in the US, where he is wanted in conjunction with 11 terrorism charges.
Abu Hamza has connections to, and contributed to the radicalisation of, a plethora of those in the UK convicted on terrorist charges. He was imprisoned in 2006 for inciting murder and racial hatred, possessing ‘threatening, abusive or insulting recordings’ and a document useful to terrorists.
The charges the US are bringing against him carry a maximum jail sentence of 100 years and go back as far as 1998, when he is accused of conspiring to take 12 Westerners hostage in Yemen. He is also alleged to have provided support to al-Qaeda and the Taleban.
Lawyers representing Abu Hamza attempted to prevent the extradition on the basis that it would harm his human rights, and that the US had use torture in acquiring the information necessary for an extradition request, an allegation High Court judges dismissed.
It now remains to be seen whether an appeal will take place to the House of Lords. If not, Abu Hamza will be extradited within 28 days.
