Abu Hamza desperate to be returned to a UK jail as his US prison is 'inhuman and degrading'
Former imam of Finsbury Park mosque ‘would go back to Belmarsh in a second if he could’
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Your support makes all the difference.Abu Hamza, the hate preacher serving a life sentence in an American prison, has launched an appeal to return to jail in the UK.
The former imam of the Finsbury Park mosque in north London has complained about the “inhuman and degrading” conditions at ADX Florence “supermax” prison in Colorado, which he argued were a breach of his human rights.
The 59-year-old Egyptian cleric was jailed in the UK in 2006 after being found guilty of inciting violence.
In 2012, he was extradited to the US and found guilty of 11 terror offences.
Court documents submitted under his real name, Mostafa Kamel Mostafa, state he is “confined within a cell-sized cage” during the hour of recreation time he is given each day, according to The Sunday Times.
It also said his cell is unsuitable for the double-amputee, who is blind in one eye, adding: “The stumps in both arms are subject to regular outbreaks of infection, which have been increasing in severity.”
The 242-page appeal said when he was fighting extradition while in Belmarsh maximum security prison, Hamza was seen by a doctor or nurse up to five times a week and could mix with other inmates.
His lawyers argue his treatment at ADX Florence breaches article 3 of the Human Rights Act, which prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Michael Bachrach, one of his appeal lawyers, told the paper: “He would go back to Belmarsh in a second if he could.”
Mr Bachrach, who is a specialist on terrorism cases, added: “We strongly believe that the conditions of his confinement violate the expectations of the European Convention on Human Rights and the promises that were made by the US government to the [British and European] courts as part of the extradition process.”