ISIS promoter Anjem Choudary to take UK’s 1st anti-extremism course

After handing the ISIS promoter Choudary an early release from prison, UK authorities have tightened the leash on him in the hopes that it will prevent him from returning to a life of glorifying terrorist causes.

Britain’s infamous Islamist hate preacher, Anjem Choudary, will be obliged to take what is being touted as “Britain’s first compulsory deradicalization” initiative as part of his probation following an early release from prison, according to The Times of London.

To the frustration of many Brits, Mr. Choudary, 51, was released on October 19 after serving only half of his five-and-a-half-year sentence for propagating support for ISIS. It has been decided, however, that he will be subject to a strict surveillance program.

After handing the ISIS promoter Choudary an early release from prison, UK authorities have tightened the leash on him in the hopes that it will prevent him from returning to a life of glorifying terrorist causes.

Britain’s infamous Islamist hate preacher, Anjem Choudary, will be obliged to take what is being touted as “Britain’s first compulsory deradicalization” initiative as part of his probation following an early release from prison, according to The Times of London.

To the frustration of many Brits, Mr. Choudary, 51, was released on October 19 after serving only half of his five-and-a-half-year sentence for propagating support for ISIS. It has been decided, however, that he will be subject to a strict surveillance program.

The Times reported that as part of his early release, Choudary must undertake, “mentoring and theological advice” on religious scripture and how to discuss religion in the public space. Reportedly, if the extremist fails to attend the course, he will be forcibly returned to prison to see out the remainder of his sentence.

In addition to attending the program, Choudary will also have to wear an electronic tag so that authorities can track his location at all times. He will also be expected to abide by a night-time curfew and will be banned from making any contact with past associates, along with those who have been charged with extremist-related offences.

Additionally, his name has been added to a United Nations sanctions list, which means that UK authorities can prevent him from traveling overseas.

The initiative, which is called the ‘desistance and disengagement programme,’ has so far been trialed by more than 100 people with terrorist-related offences, including some who fought with Daesh in Syria and Iraq, according to the Times.

Additional aims of the program reportedly include psychological support and the challenging of extremist narratives.

Returning fighters who cannot be taken to court due to a lack of evidence against them must still enroll in the program in order to be allowed back into the UK.

Choudary has become somewhat of a feared and loathed household name across the UK after leading a number of radical Islamist groups over the years, including the widely known ‘al-Muhajiroun’ and ‘Islam4UK.’ Both of those organizations called for the blanket imposition of Sharia Law in Britain.

Choudary’s name has been connected to a number of high profile terrorist attacks in the UK, including the daylight murder of soldier Lee Rigby in 2013 by two Al-Qaeda-inspired terrorists.

However, his activities came to a grinding halt in 2014 when his name was noticed in a widely shared online proclamation that called for Muslims to recognize the legitimacy of the “Islamic Caliphate State” in Iraq and Syria. He was eventually sentenced by the courts in 2016 under the UK’s anti-Terrorism Act for urging Muslims to support Daesh in a series of talks posted on Youtube.

Source: Sputnik