The oddity of Britain’s human rights debate

By Bagehot

ONE of the more depressing episodes of my week came on Tuesday, when I watched the House of Commons debate the case of Abu Qatada, a nasty Islamic radical who has been locked up for a total nine years without charge in this country, and who has just been granted bail by a British immigration judge. The British government would like to deport Mr Qatada to his native Jordan, but is currently being prevented from doing so by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which cites fears that evidence obtained by the use of torture might be used in a Jordanian court against him.

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