UK tries yet again to deport Abu Qatada to Jordan

Abu Qatada on his release from prison in the UK last year.

Lawyers for Britain's Home Secretary began another attempt Monday to expel radical cleric Abu Qatada, who has fought deportation to Jordan for a decade.

Theresa May's lawyers are attempting to overturn a ban on deporting Qatada, once referred to by a judge as Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe, after an immigration judge concluded in November Qatada would not receive a fair trial on terrorist charges if returned to Jordan, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph said.

In the latest legal battle, the Home Office is appealing a decision by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission that he cannot be returned to Jordan because there was a "real risk" evidence obtained under torture could be used against him, a violation of his human rights.

The one-day hearing, before three judges, comes after Qatada was rearrested in London Friday for allegedly breaching bail conditions governing access to mobile phones, The Guardian reported Monday.