Cleric named as 'Bin Laden link to Europe' held under terror law
A Muslim cleric alleged to be Osama bin Laden's main link in Europe has been arrested by anti-terrorist police in London and is being held in a high security jail.
Abu Qatada disappeared last December after British authorities confiscated his passport, froze his assets and ordered him to to remain at his home in Acton, west London.
The 42-year-old cleric, who has been sentenced to death in Jordan after being convicted in his absence of running a bombing campaign, disappeared with his pregnant wife and four children after the authorities took action. After his disappearance, British intelligence was accused of hiding him and using him as an informer.
It now appears Mr Qatada, who is also known as Sheikh Abu Omar Mahmood Abu Omar, was arrested at a council house in Bermondsey, south London in a joint operation by Scotland Yard's anti-terrorism branch and MI5 on Wednesday night.
Scotland Yard and the Home Office refused to confim the arrest last night but the Home Secretary David Blunkett released a Parliamentary answer stating a foreign national was arrested under the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act on Wednesday, legislation that was introduced after 11 September.
He has not been charged, but the law allows him to be held indefinitely if he is thought to be a threat to security. He is thought to be held in Belmarsh prison, south-east London.
So far, 13 foreign nationals have been detained under the act. Many are being held in Belmarsh Prison.
Abu Qatada is a Jordanian-born Palestinian who was granted asylum in Britain in 1994 after claiming he was fleeing persecution for his religious beliefs.
He appeared on the United Nations' list of suspected Islamic terrorists that was issued after the 11 September attacks and has been accused of being Osama bin Laden's ambassador in Europe.
Spanish authorities believe Mr Qatada, who preached at a prayer group in Baker Street, London, is an important figure in al-Qa'ida's global network. US security agencies have accused him of being a member of the organisation's fatwa committee, which issues religious rulings, and he is also alleged to be a member of an Egyptian Islamist group Takfir wal-Hijra.
He is alleged to have recruited Zacharias Moussaoui, the alleged 20th hijacker on 11 September, and the 'shoebomber' Richard Reid.
A document was recently published on the Internet under Mr Qatada's name name, justifying the 11 September attacks on moral grounds.