Notorious Islamist Anjem Choudary’s renewed attempt to overturn life sentence sparks outrage amid fears he mentored Manchester Arena bomber’s brother in prison
CONVICTED terrorist Anjem Choudary has been granted one final chance to appeal his life sentence despite a single judge already rejecting his bid – sparking fury from security experts who say the radical preacher is making a “mockery” of British justice.
The Criminal Appeal Office confirmed that while a single judge refused both applications, Choudary has now renewed his appeal request to go before the full court.
The 57-year-old hate preacher, who was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 28 years in July 2024 for directing banned terror group Al-Muhajiroun, now faces his last shot at overturning the conviction.
Expert’s damning verdict
Professor Anthony Glees, a terrorism expert from the University of Buckingham, launched a scathing attack on the decision to allow the appeal process to continue.
Choudary clearly remains a highly dangerous terrorist and radicaliser who is now trying to make a monkey of English justice with his latest appeal,” Prof Glees told sources.
“What the British public see here looks like an unending desire to pander to him, every time he raises a complaint.”
The academic demanded an immediate end to what he called endless legal proceedings, adding: “This has got to stop. Our courts need to tell him ‘we’re done’.
Prison mentor fears
In a chilling development, security services fear Choudary influenced Abedi to douse a female officer with scalding hot butter and stab two other officers at HMP Frankland.
The revelation has raised serious questions about the effectiveness of prison separation units designed to isolate the most dangerous extremists.
Prof Glees condemned the units as “clearly no longer fit for purpose”, claiming: “Choudary has exploited Islamist separation units, most recently to mentor vile Abedi.
International terror network exposed
Choudary’s conviction followed an international police investigation involving the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command working with law enforcement from north America, including the New York Police Department and Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The joint investigation uncovered how Choudary was running and directing what was in-effect the banned terror group Al-Muhajiroun via online lectures with followers based in New York.
At his sentencing, Judge Mark Wall told Choudary that organisations such as ALM “normalise violence in support of an ideological cause” through online meetings.
Life behind bars
The radical preacher must serve every day of his minimum 28-year term before he can even apply for parole – by which time he will be 85 years old.
Justice Mark Wall said Choudary was front and center in running a terrorist organization that “encouraged young men into radical activity”.
The judge warned: “I cannot envisage them reaching such a decision without the most cogent evidence of a change of mindset by you. If they never form the view that you can safely be released, you will remain in prison for the rest of your life”.
Previous conviction
This wasn’t Choudary’s first brush with terrorism charges. He was previously imprisoned in 2016 for encouraging support for ISIL (ISIS) before being released in 2018 after serving half of his five-and-a-half-year sentence.
During that stint, in June 2017, Anjem Choudary was moved from Belmarsh Prison to a Separation Center at Frankland Prison – the same unit where he allegedly influenced Manchester Arena bomber’s brother.
Appeal process explained
Under the criminal appeals system, when a single judge refuses permission to appeal, defendants have the right to ask for permission to appeal a second time (known as ‘renewing your application’).
A ‘full court’ of 2 or 3 judges will review your renewed application. If your application is refused again, you may need to pay costs and you may be given a ‘loss of time order‘, meaning additional time could be added to the sentence.
Shocking prison recordings
Exclusive recordings obtained earlier this year revealed Choudary boasting about how “The Government obviously created these separation centres to de-radicalise individuals and prevent them from being influential within the prison system”, but claiming they had failed spectacularly.
In the recordings, he mocked deradicalisation programmes and described his relief at being placed with “like-minded individuals” in separation units.
Links to terror plots
Choudary’s influence extends far beyond prison walls. Members of his group have been accused of being linked to between 25 and 40% of terrorist events in Britain up to 2015, according to various researchers.
The preacher has connections to some of Britain’s most notorious terrorists, including Woolwich killer Michael Adebolajo, London Bridge terrorist Khuram Butt and Fishmongers’ Hall attacker Usman Khan.
Final appeal looms
As Choudary prepares for his last-ditch appeal before the full court, victims of terrorism and security experts alike are calling for an end to what they see as endless legal manoeuvring.
The outcome of this final appeal will determine whether one of Britain’s most notorious hate preachers will spend the rest of his life behind bars – or continue his attempts to game the system from his prison cell.
