Anjem Choudary Faces UK Terrorism Charges

Radical preacher Anjem Choudary and another man, Mohammed Rahman, pleaded not guilty when they appeared before the Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, charged with inviting support for the Islamic State, according to bbc.

Choudary and Rahman have been accused of publicising support for Isis and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, through various speeches that have been published online, the court heard.

He has sent messages to his 32,000 followers on Facebook, according to theguardian.

The 48-year-old was described in court as a "high-profile figure" in the media and on social media. He was dressed in a white, ankle-length robe. He is the married father of five, who lives in Ilford.

Anjem Choudary will remain in custody until 28 August. Both men have been slammed with an offence under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which is said to have taken place between 29 June 2014 and 6 March, 2015.

BBC said that when asked by the judge, Choudary said: "Cameron and the police are guilty." The judge riposted that it seemed apparent that Choudary would plead "not guilty".

On 25 September last year, Mr Choudary of Ilford in east London, and Mohammed Rahman, 32, of Whitechapel in east London, were both arrested on suspicion of being members of IS, a proscribed organisation.

Sue Hemming, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "It is alleged that Anjem Choudary and Mohammed Rahman invited support for Isis [also known as IS] in individual lectures which were subsequently published online."

Mr Choudary is the former UK head of Islamist group al-Muhajiroun, also called Islam4UK, which was banned in 2010.