UK hate preacher Anjem Choudary has public speaking ban lifted

LONDON: UK radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary has had conditions prohibiting him from public speaking lifted.
The London radical, who was featured in Arab News’ “Preachers of Hate” series, was sentenced in 2016 to a five-and-a-half-year jail term after being convicted of promoting support for Daesh. He was released from prison in 2018 under strict conditions that have now expired.
Choudary oversaw Al-Muhajiroun (ALM), a banned extremist group that promoted a radical view of Islam.
While there has been no evidence that he has directed any attacks, he has been linked with eventual terrorists through association, including Michael Adebolajo, one of the murderers of Fusilier Lee Rigby, and Khuram Butt, the ringleader of the London Bridge terror attack.
During his teenage years, Fishmongers’ Hall attacker Usman Khan took an interest in Choudary’s preaching.
Muslim convert Lewis Ludlow, who plotted a terror attack on London’s Oxford Street, attended a demonstration led by Choudary and ALM.
Choudary was banned from public speaking, had his internet and mobile phone restricted, and was prohibited from contacting people who were suspected of extremist-related offenses.
He was also forced to wear an electronic tag, abide by a night curfew, only attend pre-approved mosques and hold regular meetings with probation officers.
Separate regulations also saw his name added to a UN sanctions list, effectively banning him from traveling overseas.