Britain weighs secret courts for terror suspects

‘Muslims are under siege’
Sheik Omar Bakri, who earned a reputation for extremism during his 20 years in Britain, announced Tuesday that he was in Lebanon. Bakri said he was visiting relatives.

“Enjoy your holiday — make it a long one,” Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said when asked about Bakri at a news conference. Bakri has dual Syrian and Lebanese citizenship, and has permission to live in Britain.

“Provisionally, (Bakri) left for a month, obviously he will be monitoring the situation to determine if it is feasible to return,” Bakri’s close associate Anjem Choudary told The Associated Press. “I think he would return if the political situation changed in this country ... (but) it is incumbent upon Muslims to go to a place where they can propagate Islam and now in Britain, Muslims are under siege.”

Bakri has made it clear that if he is told that he is not welcome in Britain, he won’t return, Choudary said. “Good,” Prescott said when told that.

“I don’t think he is welcome by many people in this country, is he?” Prescott said. “But at the moment he has the right to come in and out. ... It’s a democracy, not a dictatorship, for God’s sake.”

Broad exclusionary powers now exist
Home Secretary Charles Clarke already has wide-ranging powers to exclude people from the country if he finds their “presence is not conducive to the public good” or based on national security reasons, the Home Office spokeswoman said.

Last year, Britain barred 14 people from entering the country — 12 for national security reasons, the spokeswoman said. The Home Office refused to comment on specific cases.

The Crown Prosecution Service has said it would investigate whether Bakri’s past comments — which have included reported praise for the Sept. 11 attacks — fall under laws banning inciting violence.

In Egypt, authorities Tuesday released an Egyptian chemist, Magdy el-Nashar, who had been sought by Britain in connection with the July 7 attacks, which killed at least 56 people, including four suspected suicide bombers.

El-Nashar said after he was freed that he knew two of the bombers casually. Egyptian authorities said they found no evidence against him.

MORE FROM ATTACK ON LONDON

Britain bars radical Muslim cleric reentry

Britain bars radical Muslim cleric reentry U.K. police chief fears strike in financial district Britain may set up secretive courts Map: Where the attacks happened Interactive: The alleged bombers   Add Attack on London headlines to your news reader: