Abu Hamza loses extradition appeal in UK

Britain's High Court has ruled that Abu Hamza al-Masri, who is accused of helping set up a "terrorist" training camp in the US state of Oregon, can be extradited to the US where he is wanted to face charges, aljazeera.com website informs.

Judges Duncan Ouseley and John Thomas handed down the judgment on Friday in the case of al-Masri along with four other defendents who are accused of terrorist activities.

Babar Ahmed has been held in a UK prison without trial for eight years on suspicion of raising funds for terrorism
Al-Masri, along with Babar Ahmad, Talha Ahsan, Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled Al Fawaaz, will be now extradited to the US as soon as possible.

Their appeal came after the European Court of Human Rights backed successive UK courts in ruling for extradition.

The Home Office has said it wants to deport them "as quickly as possible".

Judges Thomas and Ousley said in their ruling there was an "overwhelming public interest in the functioning of the extradition system" and that there was "no appeal from our decision".

Al Jazeera's Peter Sharp reporting from London, says: "Abu Hamza has been in jail since 2004, he has already been charged by the British courts, now the Americans have charges against him."

Ahmad, a computer expert from South London, has been held in a UK prison without trial for eight years after being accused of raising funds for terrorism with his co-accused, Ahsan, through a website.

Fahad Ansari, a human-rights lawyer with Free Babar Ahmad Campaign, told Al Jazeera he is disappointed with the High Court ruling.