LONDON, 20 October 2004 — Radical cleric Abu Hamza Al-Masri was charged by a British court yesterday with 16 offenses including incitement to murder Jews, scuppering a request from the United States for him to face trial there on terrorism-related allegations.

“Extradition proceedings will be adjourned until the British case is dealt with, whether the charges are dropped or a trial takes place,” a spokesman for Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service said.

Hamza, 47, an Egyptian-born British national, was charged at high-security Belmarsh Magistrates Court in southeast London with 10 counts of “soliciting murder”.

This little-used charge, covered by an 1861 criminal law, relates to inciting others to murder unspecified people and carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

In Hamza’s case it relates to alleged incitement by the cleric at public gatherings to kill non-Muslims, specifically Jews according to four of the charges.

He was also charged with four counts of using threatening, abusive or insulting behavior with intent to stir up racial hatred; one count of possessing threatening, abusive or insulting sound recordings; and one count of possessing a terrorist document.

The court hearing, dominated by legal arguments, took almost three hours. At one point Hamza, who was flanked by five prison officers, left the dock for a period after feeling unwell.

The British charges mean the one-eyed, hook-handed cleric will not be sent in the foreseeable future to the United States, where judicial authorities want to try him on 11 terrorism-related charges.

Hamza was first detained in May following the US request and was then formally arrested under British laws in August. According to newspaper reports, the US authorities have been pushing hard for Hamza to be extradited rather than face a British trial.

The cleric, who spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth, was returned to prison ahead of a preliminary court hearing on Oct. 26. Hamza gained public attention for his speeches at a mosque in Finsbury Park, north London.

After being banned from giving sermons there, he took his preaching out to the street in front of the mosque, before his arrest at the request of the US authorities.

His extradition to the United States would have been difficult in any case, since he could potentially have been executed if convicted of the US charges.

Britain has a long-established policy of refusing to extradite its nationals to any country where they might face the death penalty.