UK hate preacher Anjem Choudary released from prison
UK hate preacher Anjem Choudary released from prison
British preacher Anjem Choudary has been released from jail, although he is still deemed 'a threat to society'.
2 min read
Choudary has been released from jail [Getty]
Controversial British hate preacher Anjem Choudary was released from prison on Friday morning, despite security services still deeming him a threat to society.
Choudary left Belmarsh prison at around 4am, according to Sky News, and was driven out of prison in a people carrier with blacked out window.
He will not return home and will stay at a bail hotel, living under strict supervision for the next six months.
Choudary was sentenced in 2016 to five-and-a-half years in jail for leading an extremist network that included one of two men who killed British soldier James Rigby in 2013.
He was released early due to time on remand and serve part of his sentence under license with 25 restrictions against him.
Choudary will not be able attend certain mosques, preach for the next six months, and can only be associated with people vetted by police.
The preacher will also be tagged and under watch by security services.
Despite his early release, the UK prisons minister said he is still a "dangerous" individual.
Prisons Minister Rory Stewart told the Evening Standard that he cannot be changed from his views and association with "highly dangerous fanatical extremists", and will get kept under surveillance by UK intelligence when he is freed.
"He is somebody that I would put into the category I have just mentioned - somebody who was not given a sentence of enormous length but somebody who is a genuinely dangerous person," Stewart said. "We will be watching him very, very carefully."
Choudary remains a deeply divisive figure in the UK, due to his hate-filled speeches and leadership of the now-banned extremist group, al-Muhajiroun, which remained on the fringes of British-Muslim activism.
Choudary left Belmarsh prison at around 4am, according to Sky News, and was driven out of prison in a people carrier with blacked out window.
He will not return home and will stay at a bail hotel, living under strict supervision for the next six months.
Choudary was sentenced in 2016 to five-and-a-half years in jail for leading an extremist network that included one of two men who killed British soldier James Rigby in 2013.
He was released early due to time on remand and serve part of his sentence under license with 25 restrictions against him.
Choudary will not be able attend certain mosques, preach for the next six months, and can only be associated with people vetted by police.
The preacher will also be tagged and under watch by security services.
Despite his early release, the UK prisons minister said he is still a "dangerous" individual.
Prisons Minister Rory Stewart told the Evening Standard that he cannot be changed from his views and association with "highly dangerous fanatical extremists", and will get kept under surveillance by UK intelligence when he is freed.
"He is somebody that I would put into the category I have just mentioned - somebody who was not given a sentence of enormous length but somebody who is a genuinely dangerous person," Stewart said. "We will be watching him very, very carefully."
Choudary remains a deeply divisive figure in the UK, due to his hate-filled speeches and leadership of the now-banned extremist group, al-Muhajiroun, which remained on the fringes of British-Muslim activism.
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