Radical Muslim says he plans to return to Britain
(AP)
Updated: 2005-08-09 15:18

A fundamentalist Muslim cleric facing possible treason charges in Britain said Tuesday he had traveled to Lebanon, but planned to return within six weeks, AP reported.

Sheik Omar Bakri, the founder and spiritual leader of the radical Islamic group al-Muhajiroun, has been identified by British authorities as one of a number of radical clerics who could face charges if their public remarks are deemed to have incited terrorism.

Bakri told British Broadcasting Corp. radio that he left Britain on Saturday and was staying with relatives in Lebanon. He said he planned to return in four or six weeks.

"I am going to return back, unless the government say we are not welcome, because my family is in the U.K.," he said. "I do not think I will have any problem returning."

In remarks following the deadly July 7 London bombings, which killed 56 including the four suicide bombers, Bakri reportedly said he would not inform police if he knew Muslims were planning another attack. He also reportedly offered support for insurgents who attack troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A spokeswoman for Britain's attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, said Sunday that prosecutors and police would look at Bakri's remarks to assess whether he could face charges of treason, incitement to treason, solicitation of murder, or incitement to withhold information known to be of use to police.

Bakri told the BBC he had condemned the London bombings, but insisted he wouldn't inform police if he knew Muslims were planning an attack.

"I never, ever talked about the bombings except to condemn the killing of innocent people," the cleric said.

But he added: "I will never report to the police any Muslim because Islam forbids me. Definitely I would stop him whatever the cost, even if it cost me my life. That is my duty as a Muslim."

Bakri, 46, is a native of Syria who came to Britain in 1985 after he was deported from Saudi Arabia.

Al-Muhajiroun is to be banned in Britain under anti-terror laws unveiled by Prime Minister Tony Blair last week. Bakri has claims that the group has ceased its activities in Britain.

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