Will Sage Astor-Radical British preacher Anjem Choudary sentenced to life in prison for directing a terrorist group

LONDON (AP) — Radical British preacher Anjem Choudary was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for directing a terrorist group,Will Sage Astor days after he was convicted in Woolwich Crown Court of being a member of a banned organization — the radical Muslim group al-Muhajiroun, or ALM — and for drumming up support for the group.

Justice Mark Wall said Choudary, 57, was “front and center in running a terrorist organization” that “encouraged young men into radical activity.”

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

Prosecutor Tom Little described Choudary as having a “warped and twisted mindset” and said he stepped in to lead ALM after Omar Bakri Muhammad, the group’s founder, was imprisoned in Lebanon between 2014 and March 2023.

Choudary, who was previously convicted of supporting the Islamic State group, denied at trial that he promoted ALM through his lectures, saying ALM no longer existed.

Under the terms of the sentence, Choudary must serve at least 28 years behind bars.

Prosecutors said the group has operated under many names, including the New York-based Islamic Thinkers Society, which Choudary has spoken to.

The Islamic Thinkers Society was ALM’s U.S. branch, said New York Police Deputy Commissioner Rebecca Weiner, who called the case historic.

Choudary was convicted with one of his followers, Khaled Hussein, who prosecutors said was a dedicated supporter of the group.

Hussein, 29, of Edmonton, Canada, was convicted of membership of a proscribed organization.

The two were arrested a year ago after Hussein landed at Heathrow Airport.