Abu Qatada appeal hearing due next Wednesday

Abu Qatada appeal hearing due next Wednesday

Panel of five human rights judges will meet in Strasbourg to rule on whether radical cleric's 11th-hour appeal was lodged in time

European human rights judges will decide next Wednesday whether Abu Qatada's appeal against his deportation from Britain should be allowed to go ahead.

A panel of five judges will meet in Strasbourg on 9 May to decide whether the al-Qaida linked cleric's 11th-hour appeal was lodged in time and should be heard by the European court of human rights grand chamber.

A Council of Europe spokesman said, however, that while they are to consider the issue of whether the appeal application was out of time, it would not necessarily mean that a final decision would be announced next week.