Abu Hamza loses appeal against US extradition

Radical Islamist preacher Abu Hamza and four other men on Friday failed in bids to block their extradition from Britain to the United States to face terrorism charges, as the High Court rejected their requests. Judge John Thomas said: "The applications by all five claimants must be dismissed. It follows that their extradition to the United States of America may proceed immediately." Two judges at the court in London rejected a plea by Hamza, an Egyptian-born 54-year-old former imam, to be allowed a stay of extradition in order for medical tests to be carried out to assess his fitness to face trial. Fellow terror suspects Khaled Al-Fawwaz, Syed Tahla Ahsan, Adel Abdul Bary and Babar Ahmad were also denied an injunction.The European Court of Human Rights ruled in September that all five men could be extradited, but the High Court ordered the government to halt their removal while it heard their final appeals. The government dismissed the appeals as delaying tactics. Ahmad and Ahsan, both British nationals, are accused of operating websites supporting Chechen and Afghan insurgents. Hamza -- who wears a hook where his right hand once was -- has been in prison for eight years after being convicted in Britain of inciting hatred. Fawwaz and Bary have been in prison without trial since 1999, while Ahmad has been behind bars since 2004 and Ahsan since 2006.