European Court rules Britain cannot deport terrorism suspect

The preacher, whose real name is Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, is in prison in Britain and has been convicted in his absence in Jordan of planning two bombing attacks. The British government had insisted that he be returned to Jordan as part of a wider strategy of dealing with international terrorism suspects by deportation.

Although it accepted Jordan's assurances that Othman would be treated humanely, the European court in Strasbourg, France, said in its ruling that evidence against Othman in the Jordan bombings "had been obtained by torturing one of his co-defendants." Deporting him would "legitimize the torture of witnesses and suspects," it said, and "result in a flagrant denial of justice."

Othman, like dozens of others, has been detained or at other times subjected to rigorous supervision, including home arrest, since shortly after the September 11 attacks on the United States. As with many of his contemporaries, his defenders claim that he has been persecuted, that he is nothing more than a very zealous Muslim who stops short of promoting violence. His detractors say he is flat-out dangerous.

The court's decision can be appealed within three months, but if upheld, it would require that Othman be released, or be charged in Britain.

The decision also emerged as the latest in a long line of disagreements between Britain and the authorities in Europe that have taken on a particularly bitter character as Prime Minister David Cameron has clashed with his counterparts in France and Germany over the financial crisis in the euro zone.

Othman, 51, initially won the right to remain in Britain in 1993, the year he sought asylum, claiming that he had been tortured in Jordan. A father of five, he has subsequently been sought by the authorities in nine countries, including the United States. Tapes of his sermons were found in the Hamburg apartment used by Mohammed Atta, one of the hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001, attacks.