Anjem Choudary, the 57-year-old leader of the banned terror group al-Muhajiroun, has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 28 years. The sentence was handed down at Woolwich Crown Court after Choudary was found guilty of directing the group and encouraging support for it through online meetings.
Choudary appeared shocked as the sentence was delivered, which means he cannot seek release on license until he is over 85 years old. Mr Justice Wall, presiding over the case, described al-Muhajiroun as a radical organization intending to spread sharia law by violent means.
The conviction came after a complex international investigation involving detectives from the US, Canada, and the UK. The operation revealed that the long-banned al-Muhajiroun network was still operating in 2021 under a false name in North America, attempting to recruit new followers.
Al-Muhajiroun, which emerged in the late 1990s, has been linked to numerous acts of terrorism. Choudary, a central figure in the organization since its early days, became its leader in 2014.
The current imprisonment relates to Choudary's efforts to revive the network in 2021, following his release from a previous five-and-a-half-year sentence for supporting Islamic State fighters in Syria. After his release, Choudary began conducting online lectures with North American followers, unaware that undercover officers from Canadian and US security services had infiltrated these talks.
Mr Justice Wall noted that in approximately 30 lectures, Choudary encouraged members of the "Islamic Thinkers Society" - a codename for al-Muhajiroun - to engage in confrontational street preaching and acts of violence. The judge stated that Choudary disguised these exhortations as lessons in Islamic theology.
The court heard that Choudary's followers have included individuals who joined terrorist groups abroad and committed violent acts. The judge expressed certainty that Choudary would continue to preach his message of hate and division, citing his organizational skills and oratory as ongoing dangers.
Choudary's co-accused, Canadian Khaled Hussein, was convicted of being a member of al-Muhajiroun and sentenced to five years in prison, with an additional year on supervision license after release.
* The BBC contributed to this article.
