A military court on Sunday rejected a bail application by cleric Abu Qatada, who faces terror charges in Jordan following his deportation from Britain, his lawyer said. "The state security court today refused to release Abu Qatada on bail," Taysir Diab told AFP.
"The court gave no reason for its decision. I will meet with Abu Qatada on Wednesday to look into the issue and decide future steps," Diab said, without elaborating. Abu Qatada, 53, was charged on July 7 with "conspiracy to carry out terrorist acts", just hours after his deportation from Britain. He pleaded not guilty. The next day, Diab asked the military tribunal to release the Palestinian-born preacher on bail.
Jordanian law gives him the right to a retrial with him present in the dock, but the date for such a trial has not yet been set.
He is currently in the Muwaqqar prison, a maximum security facility that houses more than 1,000 inmates, most of them Islamists convicted of terror offences. "The court's decision was expected, despite government promises to release him on bail," Jordanian Salafist leader Mohammad Shalabi, better known as Abu Sayyaf, told.