Othman (Abu Qatada) v United Kingdom
Othman (Abu Qatada) v. United Kingdom was a 2012 judgment of the European Court of Human Rights which stated that under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights the United Kingdom could not lawfully deport Abu Qatada to Jordan, because of the risk of the use of evidence obtained by torture.

Summary and final disposition

The ECtHR judgment overturns the 2009 House of Lords judgment RB (Algeria) v Secretary of State for the Home Department. This case involved deportation; inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Jordan; memorandums of understanding; retrials; right to fair trial; right to liberty and security; and torture.

Othman, aka Qatada, was born in Jordan and came to the United Kingdom in September 1993. He made an application for asylum and was recognised as a refugee on 30 June 1994 and granted leave to remain to 30 June 1998. On 8 May 1998 he applied for indefinite leave to remain. 

On 23 October 2002 he was arrested and detained under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. This Act was repealed in March 2005 and the applicant was released on bail and subjected to a control order. On 11 August 2005, while his appeal against that control order was pending, the Secretary of State served the applicant with a notice of intention to deport.

Qatada was eventually deported from the UK to face retrial in Jordan after an agreement between the two countries that evidence-obtained-by-torture would be discarded. In the event, it was discarded, and Qatada was freed of all charges in September 2014.