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Jordanian court acquits radical cleric Abu Qatada of conspiracy

World News

26-06-2014 | 04:06

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Jordanian court acquits radical cleric Abu Qatada of conspiracy

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A Jordanian court on Thursday acquitted radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada, who was extradited from Britain last year, of charges of conspiring to commit acts of terrorism.

But authorities will continue to detain the preacher because of separate charges related to a plot to attack tourists during Jordan's New Year celebrations in 2000.

"The court announces the acquittal of the defendant for lack of evidence," said Ahmad Qatarneh, the judge presiding over the three-man military tribunal, which has drawn the criticism of human rights advocates.

Abu Qatada, sitting on a bench in an enclosed iron dock, smiled and looked relaxed during the half-hour court session. Dressed in brown prison fatigues, he was flanked by black-clad security officers.

Members of his family cried out for joy when the verdict was read and his wife and her relatives burst into tears.

"Thanks and praise to God!" they shouted.

Abu Qatada had previously been sentenced in absentia by a Jordanian court to life imprisonment for conspiracy to carry out al Qaeda-style attacks against U.S. and other targets inside U.S. ally Jordan.

Thursday's session was a retrial in which the prosecution had argued Abu Qatada was a mentor to militant cells in Jordan while he was in Britain, providing spiritual and material support to a campaign of violence during the late 1990s.

But the court quashed the conspiracy charges and postponed another hearing on the New Year plot charges until Sept. 7.

Abu Qatata's defence lawyer Ghazi Thunaibat said he hoped the second trial would bring a similar sentence.

"My client has spent too long in prison unfairly and we hope the next verdict will finally end his plight and allow him to resume a normal life with his family," he told Reuters.

REUTERS

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