Footage shows moment preacher found guilty of directing terrorist organisation is arrested

Body camera footage has shown the moment ‘preacher’ Anjem Choudary was told ‘I suspect you are a terrorist’ as police officers arrested him.

Footage released by Scotland Yard showed Choudary’s arrest, having been convicted of directing terrorist organisation Al-Muhajiroun and encouraging support for it.

Officers approached his house in Audley Gardens, Ilford, just before 5.30am on July 17, 2023.

They rammed through the front door, shouting, ‘Police, stand back!’ before storming into the property and ordering Choudary to move.

The visibly shocked Islamist preacher was told to show his hands while a female voice in the background shouted, ‘What’s going on?’

Choudary appeared to ask ‘Oh my god! What are you doing?’ as he was led into another room.

In a later clip, when he was sitting down, an arresting officer told him: ‘Anjem, I am arresting you under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 as I suspect that you are a terrorist and involved in the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.

‘Information has been received that you belong to and are actively involved in the activities of Al-Muhajiroun, which is a proscribed organisation within the United Kingdom.’

Choudary was sitting with his hands on his lap, not appearing to react to what was said.

At just after 6.30am he was led out of the property, with another clip showing him handcuffed in a police vehicle.

Following a trial at Woolwich Crown Court, Choudary was convicted on today of taking a ‘caretaker role’ in directing Al-Muhajiroun (ALM).

He stood motionless in the dock with his arms crossed as the jury’s verdict was delivered.

Prosecutors said Choudary directed the terrorist organisation for a significant period of time from 2014 onwards and also encouraged support for the group by addressing online meetings of the Islamic Thinkers Society (ITS).

The 57-year-old, of Ilford, east London, gave lectures to the New York-based ITS, which prosecutors said was ‘the same’ as ALM.

TS was infiltrated by undercover law enforcement officers in the US, who were present at online lectures in 2022 and 2023, held over the Element messenger platform.

ALM was proscribed as a terror organisation in the UK in 2010, though it was said in court that the group has continued to exist under various names.

The conviction followed investigations by the Metropolitan Police, the New York Police Department (NYPD) in the US, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Commander Dominic Murphy, the head of the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism command, said: ‘There are individuals that have conducted terrorist attacks or travelled for terrorist purposes as a result of Anjem Choudary’s radicalising impact upon them.’

During a press conference, Commander Murphy added: ‘ALM’s tentacles have spread across the world and have had a massive impact on public safety and security.’

He said Choudary now faces a ‘significant’ jail sentence.

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