Britain frees radical cleric Abu Qatada

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Sundae

I'm not sure Dani's post belongs in that round up, given that she was expressing the very reason why he should not be extradited. She can respond far more eloquently than me in her own defense.

I'm the only other Brit in this thread (I think, not going back to check) and I am also saying we can't let this change our laws.

We don't have freedom of speech here. In that it is not enshrined in law.
But we do have laws that prevent people going back to countries where torture is legal. Not just that the evictee might be tortured, but that they might be convicted using statements obtained under torture.

Dani and I object to his departure despite our best interests. The man gets more state help than I do and costs the country far more in terms of security and surveillence. In prison he cost more than I would if I lived in a 3* hotel. We're trying our hardest to be fair. And liberal.

If I lived in another country I would have the same opinion as other Dwellars, with no shame. GTFO.
But like I said, we can't do that without compromising ourselves.

A few things.

First of all, Dani says for herself "most of us" that she'd like him to leave.

Originally Posted by Dani

I think most of us would like him to fuck off back to Jordon if our culture is so goddamned objectionable to him.

Next, I haven't heard anything about extradition. Only deportation. In the US, we deport people all the time, and it's on our terms. For extradition, that requires a two way agreement between us and a specific country that has requested to have a person delivered to them.

As for freedom of speech and its enshrinement in law, I am an American, and we here have freedom of speech at the very cornerstone of our laws. I do see that the freedom of speech in the UK is why Qatada wanted to be there. I do feel it is impossible to overstate the importance of such freedom and he also craves it, clearly.

As for the cost... I'm acutely aware of the seemingly extravagant expense of our criminal justice system. I don't think all the money spent this way is well spent, or even properly spent. I do know that the rule of law is *precious* and requires money to maintain, not just the blood of patriots as some would oversimplify.

I might not like the opinions of some of the people I share this country with, indeed I do not. But I love this country so much, and specifically the freedom of expression that we do have here, that I'll stand and fight to protect such freedom. That is much more important than my transient discomfort.