Abu Hamza extradition: US court hears terror suspects

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Babar Ahmad and Tahla Ahsan were extradited on Friday, with Abu Hamza and two other suspects
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Terror suspect extraditionsAbu Hamza: Extradition timeline
The men 'who led to Bin Laden'
Profiles: UK-held terror suspects
Abu Hamza: End of an era

Two terrorism suspects extradited from the UK to the US on the same day as Islamist cleric Abu Hamza have pleaded not guilty in a court in Connecticut.

Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan are both accused of conspiracy to support terrorists in Afghanistan and the Russian region of Chechnya.

The extradition of the three, along with two others, marked the end of a marathon court battle.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "sick" of people like Abu Hamza.

Mr Ahmad and Mr Ahsan were indicted in 2004 and 2006 respectively for allegedly using a website from a Connecticut-based internet service provider to raise money and recruit fighters.

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WHAT THEY ARE CHARGED WITH
Abu Hamza: charged in connection with a hostage-taking in Yemen in 1998 that resulted in four deaths; a conspiracy to establish a terrorist training camp in Bly, Oregon, in 1999; and supporting violent jihad in Afghanistan in 2000 and 2001.
Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled al-Fawwaz: charged with conspiring with members of al-Qaeda to kill US nationals and to attack US interests abroad. Bary alone is charged with murder; conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction; and other offences in connection with the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people.
Babar Ahmed and Talha Ahsan: accused of operating a jihadist website

They, Abu Hamza and two other men, Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled al-Fawwaz, left the UK from an RAF base on two flights, hours after the High Court rejected final appeals against their extradition.

Abu Hamza faces 11 charges in the US relating to hostage-taking, conspiracy to establish a militant training camp and calling for holy war in Afghanistan.

He is expected to appear before a federal court in Manhattan, New York, on Saturday, as are Mr al-Fawwaz and Mr Bary.

The latter two suspects are accused of being aides to the late al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, in London.

Jailed until trial

Mr Ahmad and Mr Ahsan were jailed until trial after their appearance in the federal court in New Haven, Connecticut. Their lawyers declined to comment.

Their next appearance in court is scheduled for 15 October, a spokesman for US prosecutors told AFP news agency.

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“
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The indictments allege the direct participation of these defendants in planning and carrying out some of the most odious acts of al-Qaeda terrorism”
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Mary Galligan

Acting deputy head of the FB

Much of the media focus has been on Abu Hamza, whom the US first tried to extradite in 2004 on 11 charges, including a hostage-taking in Yemen in 1998 when four people were killed.

The process was halted when the UK decided to try him on allegations of soliciting to murder and stirring up racial hatred relating to his sermons. He was convicted in 2006.

Prime Minister Cameron said: "I'm absolutely delighted that Abu Hamza is now out of this country.

"Like the rest of the public I'm sick to the back teeth of people who come here, threaten our country, who stay at vast expense to the taxpayer and we can't get rid of them."

Mary Galligan, acting deputy head of the FBI, said: "The extraditions of Abu Hamza, Bary and Fawwaz are a major milestone in our effort to see these alleged high-level terrorists face American justice.

She said they were accused of "planning and carrying out some of the most odious acts of al-Qaeda terrorism".

Source

[Irbis]

Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan are both accused of conspiracy to support terrorists in Afghanistan and the Russian region of Chechnya.

The extradition of the three, along with two others, marked the end of a marathon court battle.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "sick" of people like Abu Hamza.

Mr Ahmad and Mr Ahsan were indicted in 2004 and 2006 respectively for allegedly using a website from a Connecticut-based internet service provider to raise money and recruit fighters.

Gee, too bad there is this other guy openly promoting terrorists in Caucasus who openly walks London streets despite doing much more than 'allegedly' running a website. I'd expect a state to expel all of them, or none.

But this is UK, so, I guess open hypocrisy is par for the course.