Abu Hamza files last-minute appeal against deportation

LONDON: Mustafa Kamal Mustafa, better known as Abu Hamza al-Masri, the cleric known for his fiery anti-Western sermons, has appealed his extradition to the United States on terror charges.
Britain’s High Court says Abu Hamza yesterday launched a last-minute appeal in a British court against extradition to the US to face charges of helping set up a terrorist training camp in rural Oregon.
Khaled Al-Fawwaz, a second terror suspect, has also mounted a legal challenge. No date has been set for the hearing.
The appeals follow a European court decision two days earlier that was believed to have cleared the way for the cleric’s extradition and that of four others after an eight-year legal battle.
Egyptian-born Hamza and Al-Fawwaz had both lodged legal challenges with the High Court in London, said a spokeswoman in Britain’s Judiciary Office.
“I can confirm applications have been received by the High Court from Abu Hamza and Khaled Al-Fawwaz seeking injunctions to prevent their extradition,” spokeswoman Rachael Collins said.
There was no immediate indication of when the papers would be considered, but the spokeswoman said there would not necessarily be a hearing.
The European Court of Human Rights on Monday upheld an April 10 ruling that it made approving the extradition from Britain of Hamza, Fawwaz and three other suspects.