LONDON: High-profile British radical preacher Anjem Choudary appeared in a London court on Monday, charged with leading a terrorist organization.
Choudary, 56, was charged Sunday with three counts under the Terrorism Act: directing a terrorist organization, membership in a banned organization and addressing meetings to encourage support for the organization between June 2022 and this month.
Prosecutors say the charges relate to the radical group Al-MuHajjiroun, which was outlawed by the British government in 2010. It has since operated “under many names and guises,” including the Islamic Thinkers Society, prosecutors say.
Prosecutors allege Choudary gave lectures for the Islamic Thinkers Society “on the establishment of an Islamic state in Britain and how to radicalize people,” the BBC reported.
He was arrested at his home in London in July 17. He was charged alongside with Canadian national Khaled Hussein, 28, who was arrested at Heathrow Airport the same day after arriving on a flight.
Hussein, from Edmonton, Alberta, is charged with membership in a proscribed organization. Prosecutors say he worked online with Choudary to provide “a platform” for the group’s views.
Neither man entered a plea during separate hearings at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. Both were ordered detained until their next hearing at the Central Criminal Court on Aug. 4.
Nick Price, from the Crown Prosecution Service Counter Terrorism Division, said that “criminal proceedings against Mr. Choudary and Mr. Hussein are now active and they each have the right to a fair trial.”
Radical British preacher Anjem Choudary is charged with directing a terrorist organization
https://arab.news/ws4hh
Radical British preacher Anjem Choudary is charged with directing a terrorist organization
- Prosecutors say the charges relate to the radical group Al-MuHajjiroun, which was outlawed by the British government in 2010
- He was charged alongside with Canadian national Khaled Hussein, 28
Norway says Russia, China seek to up presence on Svalbard
- The second-largest town on Svalbard is almost entirely populated by Russian nationals
- China’s presence was becoming more visible in the Arctic
OSLO: While global tensions have focused on Greenland, Norway’s military intelligence service said on Friday that Russia and China were looking to increase their presence on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.
In its annual threat assessment, the Norwegian Intelligence Service said that “from Moscow’s perspective, Svalbard’s strategic location makes it necessary to maintain a Russian presence there.”
The second-largest town on Svalbard, the coal mining settlement of Barentsburg, is almost entirely populated by Russian nationals.
“There are signs that the Kremlin is looking to make the Barentsburg settlement less dependent on Norwegian supply and transport infrastructure
“Regular port visits by ships from Russia constitute one planned step in this direction,” the agency said.
It said Beijing was “also expected to work toward enhancing the Chinese presence in Svalbard.”
“The archipelago is strategically placed for future shipping routes and polar research, which are central to cementing China’s role as an Arctic actor,” it said in its report.
It noted that China’s presence was becoming more visible in the Arctic and that five Chinese research vessels had operated in the Arctic Ocean in 2025, compared to three in 2024 and one in previous years.
The service also noted that tensions between the United States and Europe over Greenland and security in the Arctic “could serve both Russian and Chinese interests.”
- ‘Crumbling’ world order -
Andreas Stensones, head of the service, said in the report that Moscow and Beijing stood to benefit as “international cooperation and institutions are being undermined.”
“The same dynamic is evident in the Arctic. Much of the foundation for Norwegian security is being challenged and we must accept that the world order as we have known it is crumbling,” Stensones said.
Speaking at a press conference, Norwegian Defense Minister Tore Sandvik noted: “2026 has so far been characterised by great uncertainty.”
He pointed in particular to US President Donald Trump’s vocally stated desire to take over Greenland.
Trump’s threats against Greenland last month plunged NATO — of which Norway is a member — into its deepest crisis in years.
“There is no denying that relations across the Atlantic are more unpredictable,” Sandvik said.
Stensones told the same press conference that Washington’s actions affected how both Moscow and Beijing were thinking and acting.
“In their view, western unity has already begun to crack, and they see great opportunities to strengthen their influence and secure control in their neighboring areas,” he told reporters.
