Cleric 'Not Preaching' to Inmates

August 4, 2007

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6931175.stm

The lawyer for a Muslim preacher fighting extradition from the UK has denied her client has been preaching hate to fellow inmates.

Abu Qatada, who once preached at the Finsbury Park mosque in north London, is being held at a specialist unit at Long Lartin jail in Worcestershire.

A prison union has said he could be radicalising other inmates via prayers.

Qatada's lawyer Gareth Peirce said that Qatada, also known as Omar Othman, did not preach to other inmates.

Steve Gough, vice-chairman of the Prison Officers Association, has warned that Qatada could be using prayer meetings for indoctrinating the next generation of terrorists, as guards were unable to decipher what he was saying.