Britain orders extradition to Spain of 9/11 suspect

A British judge on Wednesday ordered the extradition to Spain of a Moroccan man, Farid Hilali, wanted for trial over alleged links to the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. Lawyers for Hilali had argued that the 36-year-old could face a lengthy period of pre-trial detention because he is an Arab Muslim, and that he risked torture. But in his judgement at a central London court, judge Timothy Workman said there was "no cogent evidence" to support this.
"Whilst there may be prejudice arising from the heinous nature of the crime alleged, the prejudice will no doubt be controlled by the judiciary and cannot be attributable to the fact that the defendant is an Arab Muslim," said Workman, passing judgement at Bow Street Magistrates' Court.
He also concluded that it was "highly unlikely" that Hilali would be tortured or that he would face solitary confinement.
Moreover, Workman said there was "no risk" of the Spanish authorities re-extraditing Hilali to Morocco - where it had been claimed he could be subject to the death penalty - without first seeking the permission of the British authorities.
"Having concluded that there are no bars to extradition and that his extradition would be compatible with his convention rights, I am therefore ordering Mr Hilali to be extradited to Spain," Workman said.
The judge added that Hilali had seven days to appeal to the High Court.
Spanish investigation judge Baltasar Garzon has identified Hilali as a suspected co-conspirator in the September 11 carnage in New York and Washington that killed more than 3,000 people and triggered the US-led "war on terror".
The authorities in Spain have fingered him as a mystery caller who telephoned Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, the alleged head of a Madrid al Qaeda cell, in August 2001, just weeks before the suicide hijackings.
The caller is alleged to have telephoned from London and claimed to have "entered the field of aviation" and to have talked of "cutting the bird's throat", an apparent reference to the American bald eagle.
Hilali was arrested by police in London under a European arrest warrant last year.