Anjem Choudary, the notorious Islamist preacher, is facing life in jail after he was found guilty of directing a terrorist organisation following an unprecedented joint investigation by MI5, Scotland Yard, the New York Police Department, and Canadian police.
Choudary, 57, was released early from a five-year sentence for inviting support for ISIS in October 2018 but his licence conditions prevented him from using the internet until July 2021.
Within days of the conditions expiring, he began issuing press releases on Whatsapp and Telegram from his home in Ilford, East London.
He stood in the dock in a white t-shirt with his arms folded as he was found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court of directing a terrorist organisation and encouraging support for a proscribed organisation.
In a year he delivered more than 40 lectures, some to a small, selected circle but others with an audience of up to 150 from as far away as Brazil and Afghanistan.
It can be revealed that police in Britain, the US, and Canada had been running separate investigations as they became concerned that Choudary was seeking to recruit a new generation of younger followers.
Deputy Commissioner Rebecca Weiner from the New York Police Department (NYPD), called Choudary a “shamelessly prolific radicaliser” and added: “The names may have changed, years passed, but the threat remained.”
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He began preaching online to a small group of associates in New York, called the Islamic Thinkers’ Society (ITS), in June 2022 which had been infiltrated by two US undercover law enforcement officers who recorded his speeches.
In one, he boasted that he had been labelled “the number one radicaliser in Britain,” adding: “That is a badge of honour for me. It’s a medallion on my chest. What do you want to call me? An extremist? Fanatic? All of these.”
Khalid Hussein, 29, a member of the Islamic Thinkers Society living in Edmonton, Canada, began an online magazine called al-Aseer, (the prisoners), and described to Canadian undercover officers how he was “working with Sheikh Anjem”, adding: “We are the remnants of al-Muhajiroun.”
British prosecutors had to prove that Choudary had continued to run al-Muhajiroun (ALM), when the group’s spiritual leader, Omar Bakri Muhammad, fled to Lebanon after the July 7 London bombings in 2005.
Choudary helped set up the group in 1996, which re-appeared under numerous other names in an attempt to circumvent anti-terrorism laws, including Islam4UK and Muslims Against Crusades.
Choudary had been linked to numerous terrorists, including both Michael Adebolajo, the killer of Fusilier Lee Rigby, and Khuram Butt, the leader of the London Bridge attacks.
During his trial, Choudary admitted that he had performed a wedding ceremony for Adebolajo and had been present when he converted to Islam.
Two American undercover officers, referred to as OP488 and OP377, flew to London to give evidence and described how they joined a video conference call using the Element messenger platform on 12 June 2022.
A member of ITS using the name Abu Hamza, told Choudary: “We’re not banned or anything, we could go back to the old name al-Muhajiroun.”
Choudary said “fantastic” but then added: “The name is not important anyway.”
He boasted that no one had ever been prosecuted for being a member of al-Muhajiroun and spoke of how “many people became shaheed alhamdulillah” (martyrs, praise god).
In a lecture on 17 July 2022, Choudary urged his followers: “Remember the good times my dear brothers, never forget who you are, remember the Lion King when he said, remember who you are.”
In one lecture on 26 February last year, Choudary told his audience: “Is terrorism part of the deen (faith)? Yes even more, horrifying is part of the deen, even to horrify the people.”
Choudary was also caught joking about trying to charge the media £9.11 to enter a press conference on the anniversary of the 11 September attacks and naming a hurricane after Osama bin Laden.
MI5 bugged London home
MI5 had bugged Choudary’s home and the release of Bakri, after nine years in jail in Lebanon, produced a key piece of intelligence.
On 30 April last year, the covert listening devices picked up Choudary updating Bakri on the members who had become “martyrs” and sending him the phone numbers for the “old timers.”
He described how he had continued his activity online and spoke about his role as Bakri’s “naqib” (deputy) and how he had taken on the role of the “caretaker emir” (leader) when Bakri had been jailed in May 2014.
Choudary was arrested when Khalid Hussein arrived from Canada to visit him on 17 July last year.
He stood in the dock in a white t-shirt with his arms folded as he was found guilty of directing a terrorist organisation and encouraging support for a proscribed organisation.
Hussein was also found guilty of being a member of a proscribed organisation.
Speaking in his defence, Choudary claimed al-Muhajiroun had been disbanded in 2004 but added: “It is the Kevin Keegan effect. If you ask people about Kevin Keegan, people say he played football for Liverpool. They look at me as al-Muhajiroun.”
However, Tom Little KC, prosecuting, told the jury at Woolwich Crown Court: “Leopards don’t change their spots and Anjem Choudary has not changed his mindset.”
Choudary’s message to those attending his lectures “would be clearly understood by them. It was not legitimate religious freedom of expression and it was not peaceful,” the prosecutor added.
Commander Dominic Murphy, the head of Scotland Yard’s Counter-Terrorism Command, said: “This was a truly transnational terrorist investigation and that rarity has an awful lot to do with the significance of the case.”
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