Notorious British-Pakistani Preacher Sentenced Life Imprisonment on Terrorism Charges

A British-Pakistani preacher Anjem Choudary was sentenced to life imprisonment for directing a “terrorist organisation,” reported Al Jazeera.

The 57-year-old preacher of Pakistani origin was convicted last week of directing al-Muhajiroun (ALM), which was banned as a ‘terrorist organisation’ more than a decade back.

The British-Pakistani preacher will have to serve at least 28 years in prison before he would be eligible for parole.

According to prosecutor Tom Little, Choudary became “the caretaker emir” of ALM after its leader, Omar Bakri Mohammed, was jailed in Lebanon in 2014.

The police in Britain, the United States and Canada gathered evidence after a joint investigation, that Choudary was running and directing ALM via online lectures with followers based in New York.

Choudary was convicted with one of his followers, Khaled Hussein (29). The two were arrested a year ago after Hussein landed at Heathrow Airport. Earlier in 2016, Choudary was jailed for encouraging support for ISIL (ISIS). He was released in 2018 after serving half of his five-and-a-half-year sentence.

The group ALM is linked to several attacks both at home and abroad, according to Al Jazeera.