Anjem Chowdary is appearing in court on charges of running a terrorist organisation

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Extremist preacher Anjem Choudary has appeared in court on charges of running a terrorist organization and other crimes.

The 56-year-old was charged on Sunday along with Canadian citizen Khaled Hussein, after they were arrested last week.

Chowdhury is accused of running the US-based Islamic Thinkers Association, which prosecutors allege is the same organization as the outlawed Al-Muhajiroun.

He is also accused of belonging to the group, and addressing meetings he encouraged to support between June 2022 and this month.

Chowdary, from Ilford in east London, spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address when he appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday.

In a separate hearing, 28-year-old Mr. Hussain, from Edmonton in Canada, appeared charged with one count of belonging to a banned organization.

He was arrested at Heathrow Airport after arriving on a flight on 17 July, while Chowdary was arrested at his London home the same day.

Both men were taken into custody to appear at a hearing at the Old Bailey on 4 August.

Nick Price, of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Counter Terrorism Service, said: “The Counter Terrorism Service has authorized Anjem Chowdary and Khalid Hussain to be charged under the Terrorism Act.

The charges relate to the banned Al-Muhajiroun organization, also known as the Association of Islamic Intellectuals.

“Criminal proceedings against Mr. Chowdary and Mr. Hussain are now active and they both have the right to a fair trial.

“It is extremely important that there is no reporting, commenting or sharing of information online that could harm these actions in any way.”

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