~ Police say he was improperly dressed ~
KINGSTON, Jamaica--Radical Muslim cleric Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal was Wednesday denied entry to the House of Representatives where he turned up to attend a debate to amend the Terrorism Prevention Act.
Al-Faisal, who is on an international terror watch list, was turned back by the police at the entrance to the Parliament building. He was told that while he was a free man, he was not properly attired to be allowed entry.
The cleric was wearing a long-sleeve shirt with regular dress pants but had on a pair of sandals.
"He was improperly dressed," head of security, Inspector Delroy Jones told the Observer Wednesday.
When pressed as to other possible reasons why the cleric was denied entry to Gordon House, Inspector Jones reiterated that al-Faisal was a "free man" but explained that he also did not have a pass to enter the building.
Inspector Jones, however, refused to say whether there were any other security considerations when pressed further.
Wednesday, al-Faisal said he wanted to see how the Parliament operates. "Because it's my country," he said, adding that he was disappointed that he did not get the chance to enter the building.
A female, in whose company he was seen, was allowed to enter the building. She sat in the visitors' gallery throughout the proceedings. When approached for a comment, she refused to say whether she was related to the cleric but said he was wary of how he was portrayed in the local media.
Al-Faisal, who has in the past called for the killing of Americans, Jews and Hindus, was deported to Jamaica by private jet from Kenya in January after he sneaked into the east African country last year.
It cost more than US$500,000 to deport the controversial Jamaican on a chartered jet after Kenya spent three weeks trying to deport him.
He was arrested after Kenyan police accused him of violating the terms of his visa by preaching in a Nairobi-based mosque.
His arrest sparked a major riot by Muslim radicals and ended with seven people being killed when police fired on about 100 Muslim youth in the Kenyan capital.
The cleric spent four years in a British jail for his hate preaching and was deported to Jamaica in 2007.
Since his arrival from Kenya, local Muslim leaders have distanced themselves and have banned him from preaching in mosques here.
He is presently placed on the international terror watch list and is under surveillance by local cops who admitted that they knew when he left the country over a year ago.
