BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Two British citizens who spent years in prison for funding acts of terror should be deported to Britain, a Hungarian court said Thursday.
The separate rulings by a Budapest city court were based on a European arrest warrant issued after Simon Keeler and Trevor Brooks left Britain without authorization. They were detained Saturday by police in eastern Hungary on a train headed to Romania's capital, Bucharest.
They were detained for not being able to prove that they were in Hungary legally. Keeler had a valid British driver's license, while Brooks only gave police a Quran when asked for ID.
During his hearing, Keeler said he lived in London, that security measures imposed by police against him were "very much over the top" and that he hoped to join his wife and children in Turkey.
"I don't want to go back to Britain," Keeler said.
Brooks, who said he was also known as Omar Brooks and Abu Izzadeen, objected during his court appearance to the quality of the food he was getting in custody and requested mineral water as tap water made him ill.
Brooks said he liked Hungary, but preferred to be sent back to Britain.
According to the rulings, Keeler and Brooks will be set free if Britain doesn't take over custody by Nov. 29. The specifics of what type of acts they were convicted of financing weren't discussed in court.
The court also said that, based on a special arrangement, British courts can only conduct the criminal proceedings against the men which were detailed in the arrest warrant — the fact that they left Britain without prior authorization. Any other charges would need consent from Hungarian authorities.
This story has been corrected to show the men were detained on Saturday, not Sunday.
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