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Abu Hamza sues US over ‘cruel’ prison conditions as he claims his hooks which replace forearms have been removed

He is serving a life sentence for terror offences

Zoe Tidman
Sunday 30 August 2020 19:06 BST
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Radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza is reportedly suing US authorities over his prison conditions
Radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza is reportedly suing US authorities over his prison conditions (Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

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Abu Hamza, a hate preacher serving a life sentence in the US, is reportedly suing authorities over his conditions in jail.

The former imam at Finsbury Park mosque in London has filed a civil lawsuit against the US attorney general, in which he claims he has been denied family visits for around eight years and receives no natural light in his cell, according to The Sunday Times.

He also makes allegations of having to open packets of food with his rotting teeth, as his hooks which replace forearms have been removed, and claims he is being kept in "cruel conditions", the newspaper reported.

Several years ago he asked to return to a jail in the UK, complaining about "inhumane and degrading" conditions at his US prison.

The radical Muslim cleric was imprisoned in the UK in 2006 after being found guilty of inciting violence.

Hamza was extradited to the US in 2012 and found guilty of 11 terror offences.

The 62-year-old is serving a life sentence for terror offences.

In his lawsuit, he has claimed he is suffering from "stress and anxiety" and has lost several teeth trying to open food pouches without his hooks, according to The Sunday Times.

The Egyptian-born cleric reportedly claimed his arm stumps bleed when he tries to turn on the sink tap.

Hamza is being kept in solitary confinement at ADX Florence, a "supermax" prison in Colorado.

The US Department of Justice have been contacted for comment by The Independent.

Hamza's son was arrested in the UK at the start of last year,

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