A court in London sentenced on Tuesday radical British preacher Anjem Choudary to life in prison for directing a banned terrorist group.
Choudary, 57, whose followers have been linked to numerous plots around the world, was convicted last week of directing al-Muhajiroun group, or ALM, and encouraging others to support the proscribed group.
The group was banned as a terrorist organization more than a decade ago.
On Tuesday, Judge Mark Wall imposed a life sentence on Choudary with a minimum term of 28 years before he can be eligible for parole.
Once Britain's most high-profile preacher, Choudary drew attention for praising the men responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and saying he wanted to convert Buckingham Palace into a mosque.
He was previously imprisoned in Britain in 2016 for encouraging support for ISIS, before being released in 2018 after serving half of his five-and-a-half-year sentence.
Choudary's lawyer Paul Hynes argued that ALM was “little more than a husk of an organization” and that almost all terrorist acts linked to the group had already taken place.
But Wall said ALM was “a radical organization intent on spreading sharia law to as much of the world as possible, using violent means where necessary.”
Choudary stood trial alongside Canadian citizen Khaled Hussein, 29, who was arrested on the same day as Choudary in 2023 when he arrived on a flight at Heathrow Airport.
Hussein was found guilty of membership of a proscribed organization and sentenced to five years in prison.
Born in the UK in 1967 to parents of Pakistani descent, Choudary turned to religion after meeting Syrian-born preacher Omar Bakri Muhammad, who is currently imprisoned in Lebanon.
Choudary was Bakri's right-hand man. He stepped in to lead ALM after Bakri Muhammad, the group’s founder, was imprisoned in Lebanon between 2014 and March 2023.
Choudary considers Britain a Muslim country and should be the seat of the caliphate.
Rebecca Weiner, NYPD deputy commissioner in charge of intelligence and counterterrorism, described Choudary as a “shameless, prolific radicalizer.” She called the case historic.
During his trial, the radical British preacher said the ITS does not exist and that al-Muhajiroun organization was dismantled in 2004.
