Terror suspects' extradition delayed

The Strasbourg court said yesterday it wanted more time to examine possible human rights breaches if the men were to face trial on charges which could mean life sentences without parole.

Ahmad, 36, has been in a UK prison without trial for nearly six years, refused bail since his arrest in August 2004 on a US extradition warrant. Radical preacher Hamza is also wanted in the US on terror charges.

Both appealed to the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds their treatment and potential punishment could violate Human Rights Convention provisions on the "prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment".

The appeal prompted a stay of extradition proceedings pending the verdict, which further postponed a final decision.

The ruling gives the UK Government until September 2 to submit observations and declares: "The (Human Rights) Court decided to prolong, until further notice, the interim measures it had adopted indicating to the UK Government that it was in the interests of the proper conduct of the proceedings that the applicants should not be extradited while the cases were being examined by the court".

Two other British nationals wanted in the US – Haroon Rashid Aswat and Seyla Talha Ahsan – have also been granted more time before extradition warrants can be carried out.

All four men were described by the court yesterday as "alleged international terrorists".

The judges dismissed claims that US trial procedures would amount to a denial of justice, or that any of the four would be designated as "enemy combatants" and exposed to a possible death penalty if convicted.

However, said the ruling, there was a real risk that, in the case of "post-trial detention", Mr Ahmad, Mr Aswat and Mr Ahsan would be held at a jail in Colorado where conditions raised concerns about breaches of Human Rights Code Article 3 on torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.