Radical Preacher Anjem Choudary Convicted Again in UK

Anjem Choudary speaks at a rally outside London's Regents Park mosque in April 2015 (AP)
Anjem Choudary speaks at a rally outside London's Regents Park mosque in April 2015 (AP)
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Radical Preacher Anjem Choudary Convicted Again in UK

Anjem Choudary speaks at a rally outside London's Regents Park mosque in April 2015 (AP)
Anjem Choudary speaks at a rally outside London's Regents Park mosque in April 2015 (AP)

Radical British preacher Anjem Choudary was found guilty Tuesday by a London jury of directing a terrorist group.

Born in the UK to parents of Pakistani descent, Choudary, 56, was convicted in London of directing the banned organization, al-Muhajiroun, or ALM, for a significant period of time from 2014 and for drumming up support for the group.

ALM was outlawed by the British government in 2010 as a group involved in committing, preparing for or promoting terrorism.

Choudary also encouraged support for the group by addressing online meetings of the Islamic Thinkers Society (ITS), the US branch of the group based in New York, prosecutors claimed.

Rebecca Weiner, NYPD deputy commissioner in charge of intelligence and counterterrorism, described Choudary as a “shameless, prolific radicalizer.” She called the case historic.
“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,” Weiner said.

Choudary, who was detained in east London on July 17 last year, will be sentenced on July 30.

During his trial, the radical British preacher said the ITS does not exist and that al-Muhajiroun organization was dismantled in 2004.

Londonistan

Choudary acted as one of the main representatives of the “Londonistan” circles that emerged in the British capital in the early 2000s.

His followers have been linked to numerous plots across the world.

The man became known to the authorities and the media through the demonstrations he organized in front of mosques, embassies and police stations in the UK.

Choudary said his ultimate goal was to hoist the flag of Islam over the British Prime Minister's office in Downing Street.

In 2016, he was sentenced for five years in prison for inviting support for ISIS and was released early in October 2018 but remained under observation for the remaining period.



China Announces Joint Naval, Air Drills with Russia 

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese and Russian warships take part in a joint naval drills in the East China Sea, Dec. 27, 2022. (Xu Wei/Xinhua via AP, File)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese and Russian warships take part in a joint naval drills in the East China Sea, Dec. 27, 2022. (Xu Wei/Xinhua via AP, File)
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China Announces Joint Naval, Air Drills with Russia 

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese and Russian warships take part in a joint naval drills in the East China Sea, Dec. 27, 2022. (Xu Wei/Xinhua via AP, File)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese and Russian warships take part in a joint naval drills in the East China Sea, Dec. 27, 2022. (Xu Wei/Xinhua via AP, File)

China’s Defense Ministry on Monday announced joint naval and air drills with Russia starting this month, underscoring the closeness between their militaries as Russia presses its grinding invasion of Ukraine.

The ministry said the “Northern United-2024” exercises would take place in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk farther north, but gave no details.

It said the naval and air drills aimed to improve strategic cooperation between the two countries and “strengthen their ability to jointly deal with security threats.”

The notice also said the two navies would cruise together in the Pacific, the fifth time they have done so, and together take part in Russia’s “Great Ocean-24” exercise. No details were given.

China has refused to criticize Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its third year, and blamed the US and NATO for provoking President Vladimir Putin.

While China has not directly provided Russia with arms, it has become a crucial economic lifeline as a top customer for Russian oil and gas as well as a supplier of electronics and other items with both civilian and military uses.

Russia and China, along with other US critics such as Iran, have aligned their foreign policies to challenge Western-led liberal democratic order. With joint exercises, Russia has sought Chinese help in achieving its long-cherished aim of becoming a Pacific power, while Moscow has backed China's territorial claims in the South China Sea and elsewhere.

That has increasingly included the 180-kilometer (110-mile) wide Taiwan Strait that divides mainland China from the self-governing island democracy that Beijing considers its own territory and threatens to invade.

Based on that claim, the Taiwan Strait is Chinese. Though it is not opposed to navigation by others through one of the world's most heavily trafficked sea ways, China is “firmly opposed to provocations by countries that jeopardize China’s sovereignty and security under the banner of freedom of navigation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing on Friday.

Mao was responding to a report that a pair of German navy ships were to pass through the strait this month for the first time in more than two decades. The US and virtually every other country, along with Taiwan, considers the strait international waters.