Just in case you think the spat McCain and Obama are having today over criminal protections for jihadis is academic, behold.

Qatada, who is accused of giving advice and support to terrorists including the leader of the September 11 hijackers, has been described in official documents as a “truly dangerous individual” who was “heavily involved, indeed at the centre of terrorist activities associated with al-Qa’eda.”

He has been convicted twice in Jordan in his absence for conspiracy to carry out bomb attacks on two hotels in Amman in 1998, and providing finance and advice for a series of bomb attacks in Jordan planned to coincide with the Millennium…

With the prospect of extradition removed, the Ministry of Justice has been forced to release him by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.

The bail order was signed this afternoon and he is expected to be released from Long Lartin jail in Worcestershire tomorrow.

Follow the link and read down into the piece or else you won’t grasp just how deep in international jihadist filth he is. Although this detail perhaps sums it up: He used to be the guy to whom none other than Abu Musab Zarqawi looked for “spiritual guidance.” He’ll be under 22-hour curfew with no Internet or cell phone access — but why, you ask, can’t he be sent home to Jordan to stand trial for conspiracy? Answer: It would be … inhumane.

Investigators have struggled to turn the intelligence about his activities into evidence for prosecution, a senior British anti-terrorism official said in an interview…

[A]uthorities chose a strategy of sending him back to Jordan to be judged. British diplomats crafted a deal in which the Jordanians agreed to let independent human rights watchdogs monitor his treatment during a retrial on charges related to a terrorist attack and a foiled bomb plot in Jordan for which he had been convicted in absentia.

Nonetheless, the appellate panel ruled last month that British officials could not guarantee Abu Qatada’s safety or prevent the use of Jordanian evidence already obtained through torture.

This reminds me of the issues Britain’s had with “control orders,” hybrid legal devices they came up with for jihadis they don’t have enough evidence to prosecute but do have enough evidence to place on a sort of probation status requiring them to check in periodically with the cops or even wear electronic tags. Minor problem: Multiple suspects have managed to escape despite being under “control.” That’s not much of a worry with Qatada, who’ll be watched night and day, but it shows you what kind of bind western legal systems are in — either jailing suspects under subpar standards of proof or surveilling them 24/7.

You want the punchline? You can’t handle the punchline.

Update: Will the curfew stick, at least? Maybe not:

The 22-hour-a-day curfew is believed to be the toughest yet imposed. Law Lords have previously said that a curfew of just 18 hours a day was too much.

The eight-page bail order specifies that Qatada is barred from associating with a range of named people, including Osama bin Laden.

Update: The deed is done. He’s back on the streets.