Abu Hamza extradition approved

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Britain can extradite five suspected militants to the United States - but only after all court procedures have been exhausted.

The court, based in the French city of Strasbourg, had been considering the cases of six people indicted in the United States between 1999 and 2006.

They are accused of hostage-taking in Yemen and attacks on U.S. embassies in Africa.

One of the five is militant cleric Abu Hamzaal-Masri, a one-eyed radical with hooks for hands who hailed the Sept. 11, 2001 hijacked airliner attacks on the United States.

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He faces 11 charges related to the taking of 16 hostages in Yemen in 1998, advocating a Jihad uprising in Afghanistan and trying to set up an al Qaeda training camp in the United States.

The news will come as a relief to the prime minister as Britain is wary of trying the men in the UK but cannot deport them.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) LAWYER AT THE REGISTRY OF EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS, CLARE OVEY, SAYING:

"The Court has held that basically, if these applicants are convicted and sentenced to all-life sentences without possibility of parole in the U.S., that will mean that they have basically been convicted of very serious offences and that these sentences will not be grossly disproportionate and will not therefore amount to inhuman and degrading treatment."

The suspects have three months to appeal.

Travis Brecher, Reuters