London, England - A British judge apologized Thursday to a suspected Islamic militant ordered to appear in court for an extradition hearing on one of the Muslim calendar's holiest days.
Haroon Rashid Aswat, 31, is accused of trying to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon, and the U.S. government is seeking his extradition. He appeared in London's Bow Street Magistrate's Court on Thursday for the first day of the hearing.
"It is the most important day of my religion today — Eid," Aswat told Judge Timothy Workman, referring to the festival of Eid al-Fitr that ends a month of fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
"For me it is not a problem," he told the judge. "I can understand it is about technical difficulties. But for these people doing these bombings in this country, they are very simpleminded — they take it as an insult.
Workman apologized for the timing of the appearance, saying: "If I had known we would have picked a different day."
U.S. lawyer Clair Dobbin said Washington was seeking extradition in relation to "conduct which took place between October 1999 and the early stages of 2000, which involved the setting-up of a jihad training camp in Bly, Oregon."
Aswat's case was adjourned until Nov. 24.