Abu Qatada wins deportation appeal

The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) has allowed Mohammed Othman’s (Abu Qatada) appeal against the Home Secretary’s decision to refuse to revoke the deportation order against him.

Mr Othman had taken his case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) after unsuccessfully challenging the Home Secretary’s decision to deport him to Jordan in the domestic courts.

By a judgment handed down on 17th January 2012 which became final on 9th May 2012, the ECtHR unanimously held that the appellant’s deportation to Jordan would not violate Articles 3 and 5 of the Convention, but that it would violate Article 6, “on account of the real risk of the admission at the applicant’s retrial of evidence obtained by torture of third persons.”

On 18th May 2012 the Home Secretary notified the appellant of her refusal to revoke the deportation order. The appeal against that decision was heard by SIAC as her decision was based in part on material that it was not in the public interest to disclose.

Following the SIAC decision, a Home Office spokesperson said:

"The government strongly disagrees with this ruling. We have obtained assurances not just in relation to the treatment of Qatada himself, but about the quality of the legal processes that would be followed throughout his trial. Indeed, today’s ruling found that “the Jordanian judiciary, like their executive counterparts, are determined to ensure that the appellant will receive, and be seen to receive, a fair retrial.” We will therefore seek leave to appeal today’s decision.”

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v1.0.