Lawyers for the US government argued for the extradition of Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri in a hearing before a London court Thursday. Al-Masri is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Britain for urging his followers to kill Jews and other non-Muslims and using "threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior" to stir up racial hatred. Hamza faces US charges of attempting to establish terrorist training camps both in Oregon and in Afghanistan. The hearing, initially scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed to give Hamza time to recover from an operation.
The US called for Hamza's extradition last year, but hearings were delayed pending his appeal of his current conviction in the UK courts. The appeals were dismissed in November. Hamza's lawyers say the extradition warrant should be dismissed because it was issued on evidence obtained by torture.