Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years after being found guilty of running a banned terrorist organisation.
Choudary, who counter-terror police say has had a “radicalising impact” on terrorists, was convicted last week of taking a “caretaker role” in directing Al-Muhajiroun (ALM) while its founder was in jail.
He was also found guilty of encouraging support for it through online lectures to the Islamic Thinkers Society (ITS), which prosecutors said was another name for ALM.
It came after an investigation by the Metropolitan Police, the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Choudary will spend more than 26 years in jail in total due to the time he has already spent in custody, meaning he will not be released before the age of 85, the judge said.
Sentencing at Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday, Mr Justice Mark Wall told Choudary he was “front and centre in running a terrorist organisation”.
The judge also said that he “encouraged young men into radical activity”.
The judge said: “These are offences which cause the risk of significant loss of life.”
He went on: “Organisations such as yours normalise violence in the pursuit of an ideological cause. Their existence give individuals who are members of them the courage to commit acts that otherwise they might not do.
“They drive a wedge between people who would and could live together in peaceful co-existence.”
The judge labelled Choudary’s views “entrenched and abhorrent to many right-thinking people”.
During the hearing, defence barrister Paul Hynes KC said that by the time Choudary had started directing ALM, it was “little more than a husk of an organisation” and he was not “gathering the masses to join”.
ITS was infiltrated by undercover law enforcement officers in the US, who were present at online lectures in 2022 and 2023, held over the Element messenger platform.
ALM was proscribed as a terror organisation in the UK in 2010, though it was said in court the group has continued to exist under various names.
A senior security official said last week’s conviction was a “significant moment”, adding the evidence presented in court showed “Choudary’s continued involvement in supporting terrorism and radicalising others”.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism command, said: “There are individuals that have conducted terrorist attacks or travelled for terrorist purposes as a result of Anjem Choudary’s radicalising impact upon them.”
During a press conference, he added: “ALM’s tentacles have spread across the world and have had a massive impact on public safety and security.”
NYPD deputy commissioner Rebecca Weiner said it was a “historic case”, describing Choudary as a “shameless, prolific radicaliser”.
Ms Weiner said: “It is usually the foot soldiers, the individuals, who are brought into the network who go on to commit the attacks who are brought to justice.
“And it’s rarely the leader, which is what makes this a particularly important moment.”
Prosecutor Tom Little KC, opening the trial at Woolwich Crown Court on June 13, said Choudary had a “warped and twisted mindset”.
Omar Bakri Muhammad, who founded ALM, was in prison in Lebanon between 2014 and March 2023, and Choudary stepped in and “filled the void”, Mr Little said.
In 2016, Choudary was convicted and jailed for five-and-a-half years for supporting the so-called Islamic State.
The court heard that Choudary, whose licence conditions expired in July 2021 following his 2018 release from prison, said he viewed being called an extremist or fanatic as a “medallion” during lectures.
Mr Murphy said: “What became clear after his licence conditions was that he saw the online space as a means of engaging globally with larger groups of people.
“And what was clear to us was that increasingly there were a larger number of people that were willing to engage with Anjem Choudary online and he was having an influence over those individuals.”
Khaled Hussein, 29, from Canada, who prosecutors said was a “follower and dedicated supporter” of Choudary, was found guilty of membership of ALM.
He was jailed for five years with an extra year on licence
Evidence showed how Hussein was effectively acting as a personal assistant to Choudary, helping to host online lectures and editing extremist online blogs and publications for him.
Defence barrister Hossein Zahir KC argued Hussein was a “wholly inactive” member.
Choudary was arrested in east London on July 17 of last year while Hussein, from Edmonton, was detained at Heathrow Airport, having arrived on a flight the same day.
Scotland Yard said Hussein had planned to visit Choudary.
