A terror suspect who lost a last-ditch bid to avoid being sent for trial in America has said he is not anti-extradition or the US.

Babar Ahmad has been jailed for eight years without trial, during which time his wife divorced him and he was beaten by the Met police. The 38-year-old says he now expects to be extradited "imminently" after a second attempt to bring a private prosecution against him failed.

Writing in the Guardian, Ahmad said millions had been spent on keeping him detained for so many years.

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Babar Ahmad has been detained without trial for eight years

"I am not against the concept of extradition; in fact I support it, but only for fugitives," he writes.


British-born Ahmad's family have campaigned for him to be tried in the UK over accusations he ran a jihadist website and raising funds for terrorism.

In his comment piece, Ahmad writes that he is not "anti-US."

"The US is a sovereign nation with a justice system that it can run how it wants. If you disagree with US penal policies, or believe them to be harsh, the answer is simple as we say in prison, 'If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.'


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Babar Ahmad being escorted into the High Court by prison officers

Speaking to The Huffington Post UK last week Ahmad’s sister Nazia also called for her brother to be tried in Britain. “We have a legal justice system in the UK, why can’t he be put on trial here?




The Home Office has said Babar Ahmad, Seyla Talha Ahsan, Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled Al-Fawwaz and Abu Hamza would be "handed over to the US authorities as quickly as possible".

SEE ALSO: Babar Ahmad And Talha Ahsan Should Be Tried In UK Say Family, MP And Legal Experts