Cleric faces terrorism charge
Choudary denies he invited support for banned Islamic State
LONDON — Radical preacher Anjem Choudary launched a 20-minute court monologue protesting his innocence after being charged with a terror offence for the first time.
The controversial cleric said that he would be pleading that Prime Minister David Cameron, the police and the Crown Prosecution Service were the guilty ones after being accused of inviting support for the terror group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant between June 29, 2014, and March 6 of this year.
The 48-year-old claimed his arrest and charge was a “political manoeuvre to silence Muslim voices” and insisted that he would defend himself in court.
Choudary appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court along with co-accused, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, 32. The pair allegedly encouraged Muslims to obey ISIL as a caliphate in online messages, despite it being a banned terrorist organization.
It is believed to be the first time Choudary has been charged with a terrorism offence.
Asked how he intended to plead, the former lawyer said: “I will be pleading Cameron, police and the judges are guilty and the only people who are innocent here are me and Mr. Rahman.”
He said: “I believe from the top down this is a political manoeuvre from Cameron, the Home Secretary, the police and the CPS, to try to silence voices of the Muslim community, of which I am one of the loudest. I have a very strong case against the Crown and I would like to have my day in court.”
Choudary and Rahman were arrested, along with seven other men, in September 2014 on suspicion of being members of a proscribed organization, and have been on police bail since. At the Westminster court, Choudary said he had openly said he wanted to live under Shariah law and had described what a caliphate was, but that was a “world of difference” from saying to people they should go.
Prosecutor David Cawthorne said of the defendants: “Both are high-profile figures and are well aware of their influence across social media and their wider community.”
Chief magistrate Howard Riddle praised Choudary’s representations but refused him bail. Both defendants were remanded in custody and will appear at the Old Bailey on Aug. 28.
Before being charged, Choudary had said: “The whole issue is about people supposedly preaching hate, but there’s so much hate preached by people, by the farright, by animal rights activists. If people have strong views, why should they be curtailed?”
Sue Hemming, the CPS’s head of special crime and counter-terrorism, had said of the charges: “Following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism command, we have authorized charges against Anjem Choudary and Mohammed Mizanur Rahman.
“We have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to prosecute. Each man is charged with one offence contrary to Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000.