UK unveils criteria for banning, deportation of hate preachers News
UK unveils criteria for banning, deportation of hate preachers

[JURIST] The British government Wednesday unveiled a list of "unacceptable behaviors" [press release] that would qualify foreigners inciting hatred to be deported or barred from entry into the UK. Home Secretary Charles Clarke [official profile] said the measure, designed to crack down on radical Islamic preachers, is a way to counter "those who seek to foster hatred or promote terrorism." The unacceptable behaviors apply only to non-UK citizens and include expressing views which foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence in pursuit of particular beliefs, and seeking to provoke others to terrorist acts. The incitement can take the form of written, published or distributed material, as well as websites and public speaking. The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) [advocacy website] has already called the measure "unworkable and oppressive" [press release] and sayz the new grounds for deportation amount to the "criminalization of thought, conscience and belief." Amnesty International said Wednesday that the security measures represent a serious attack on human rights [press release] and that if British officials use the policy to deport people to countries where they were at risk of being tortured, this would be a violation of international law. Liberty UK echoed these concerns:

we believe it is better for terrorist suspects be tried than shuffled around the world. If they have to be deported then at the very least there must be corroboration and robust involvement from international human rights monitors.
Reuters has more. The Guardian has local coverage.