Islamist Preacher Anjem Choudary, Leader Of Al-Muhajiroun Group Gets A Life Imprisonment
Anjem Choudary, the leader of the banned terror group Al-Muhajiroun, has received lifetime imprisonment for being guilty of directing the group and encouraging support for it through online meetings. Life imprisonment means Choudary can not leave the jail on license till he crosses 85 years of age with a minimum term of 28 years.
The extremist preacher was convicted for directing a terror outfit, after a complex operation in the US, Canada, and the UK. Choudary is considered one of the most influential radicalizers in the UK and was caught after an international undercover investigation proving that he headed the long-banned al-Muhajiroun network. He was trying to recruit new followers under a false name in North America.
Justice Wall said Choudary’s group was a radical organisation intended to spread Sharia law through violent means to the world.
Al-Muhajiroun emerged in the late 1990s and was linked to dozens of acts of terrorism with followers allegedly committing acts of violence. Choudary was reportedly heading the organisation since 2014 after its founder was jailed in Lebanon.
The 57-year-old’s imprisonment relates to his attempt to revive the network in 2021 after he was released from jail serving five and a half year term to invite followers to support ISIS in Syria. Chaudary was allegedly holding online lectures to gain support and radicalize his supporters in North America.
During the hearing, Justice Wall said that in nearly 30 lectures Choudary encouraged members of the ‘Islamic Thinkers Society’ – a codename for the al-Muhajiroun network- into confrontational street preaching and acts of violence.
The judge said, “You thinly disguised these exhortations as lessons in Islamic theology” and added that Choudary knew members of the organizations would carry out attacks, whether he was personally involved or not.
Chaudary was accused of driving wedges between people who would otherwise live together in peaceful co-existence. The judge said that he is sure Chaudary will keep preaching hate messages and division.
Earlier in the hearing, Paul Hynes KC, for Choudary said that al-Muhajiroun was not like al-Qaeda or Islamic State.
