British judge OKs sending terror suspect to U.S.

[shawn703]

A judge ruled Tuesday that a British man can be extradited to the United States to face charges of supporting terrorism, conspiring to kill Americans and running a Web site that U.S. authorities say was used to fund terrorists.

The United States has promised not to seek the death penalty for Babar Ahmad. Home Secretary Charles Clarke, the top British official in charge of law and order, has 60 days to decide whether Ahmad will be extradited.

Ahmad’s lawyers said they would appeal the ruling. The 31-year-old computer specialist has been in custody since his August arrest on a U.S. extradition warrant.

Acknowledging that the case was “difficult and troubling,” Judge Timothy Workman said he accepted assurances by U.S. authorities that they would not seek the death penalty or declare Ahmad an “enemy combatant,” a category applied to prisoners at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and one that affords fewer legal protections.


more...
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7883196/