‘Genuinely dangerous’: Islamic State supporter Anjem Choudary released from prison
Convicted hate-preacher Anjem Choudary has been released from prison, two years into his five-and-a-half-year sentence. The preacher had been convicted of inviting support for the so-called Islamic State.
The 51-year-old was driven away from London’s high-security Belmarsh prison. Choudary has reportedly been taken to a secure bail hostel in an undisclosed location.
He will now be subject to a large number of requirements as well as monitoring from MI5 and police at a reported cost of £2m a year.
Conditions are thought to include limits on his movements; such as an evening curfew, the wearing of a GPS electronic tag and a ban on visiting specific venues such as Regent’s Park Mosque in central London, where he used to worship.
Choudary’s name has been added to a UN sanctions list, prohibiting him from travelling as well as imposing an asset freeze on him and an ‘arms embargo.’
Prison Minister, Rory Stewart, said ahead of his release that Choudary remains “genuinely dangerous,” adding that the preacher would be watched “very,very carefully.”
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Anti-fascist campaigners have warned that Choudary’s release could increase extremism from both the far-right and radical Islamists. Hope not Hate’s Nick Lowles said: “His influence and the damage his actions have caused are unparalleled.
“His release is likely to breathe life back into the extremist movement he once led."
No other British citizen has had so much influence over so many terrorists as Choudary.”
Before his arrest Choudary had a constant presence in the British press. Lowles called on the media to “act responsibly” to avoid providing said extremists with an opportunity to “exploit tensions and sow further communal hatred.”
Choudary, one of Britain’s most high profile supporters of Islamic extremism, came to prominence in the early 2000s during the UK’s so-called ‘war on terror.’ The preacher and his group of Muslim extremists, Al-Muhajiroun, toured the country carrying out talks and protests targeting the government and promoting a ‘clash of civilisations’ narrative between Islam and the West.
The murderers of Lee Rigby, Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, as well as London Bridge attack ringleader Khuram Butt, were associated with Al-Muhajiroun, now banned in the UK and listed as a terrorist organisation by the US State Department.
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