Suspect fights US extradition

Extradition to the US of a suspected al-Qaeda terrorist would breach his human rights and amount to an "abuse of process", his lawyer told a court yesterday.

Abid Naseer, 24, is wanted for trial in America, accused of being "deeply involved" in a plot to bomb the New York underground system and targets in Britain. He was arrested in July in the north-east of England after US authorities issued a warrant.

Ben Cooper, representing Naseer, cited conditions in US "super max" prisons as one of the reasons for seeking to block the extradition. "In due course, it will be submitted before this court that to permit Naseer to be tried in the US amounts to an abuse of process," he said.

A full hearing is scheduled for Westminster Magistrates' Court in December.