Hook-handed cleric, 4 other U.K. suspects to face U.S. court

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Ahmad hasn’t faced charges in Britain, but has been held without trial for eight years in a U.K. prison. In an interview that took place after the BBC won a legal battle to speak with Ahmad, he insisted he did not condone terrorism and urged authorities to put him on trial in the U.K.

Faras Baloch, a legal adviser to Ahmad’s family, said their "best chance" of fighting extradition now lies in getting a trial in Britain. "We are going to press for him to be tried in the U.K.," Baloch said, adding that justice should not be outsourced to the U.S.

Ahmad’s brother-in-law, Fahad Ansari, said the family hopes to appeal to the European Court’s grand chamber. He questioned the alleged "torture" and "inhuman and degrading treatment" in Supermax prisons.

"It is completely inhumane and no country can justify sending one of its citizens to such a scenario," he said.

Two other cases were also considered by the European court, which decided extradition to the U.S. would not violate EU human rights laws.

Khalid al-Fawwaz, a Saudi citizen, and Adel Abdul Bary, who is Egyptian, are wanted over the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people. Al-Fawwaz, allegedly Osama bin Laden’s representative in Britain, has been charged with more than 269 counts of counts of murder.

Several politicians and political groups used the cases to highlight what they deemed failings in the U.K. legal system for taking so many years to clear up questions of extradition.

Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, said the ruling underscored "the disarray of extradition and removals in the U.K. and pointed to the need to ensure the important cases are fast-tracked.

"Babar Ahmad alone has waited eight years for a decision on his case," he said. "This delay is unacceptable."

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