UK Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary charged with three terrorist offenses

PHOTO CAPTION: Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary addresses members of the media during a protest supporting the Shari'ah law, in north London October 31, 2009. (TAL COHEN/REUTERS)

LONDON (Reuters) - British radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary has been charged with three terrorism offences after being arrested in London last week, police said on Monday.

Choudary, 56, has been charged with membership of a proscribed organisation, directing a terrorist organisation and addressing meetings to encourage support for a proscribed organisation, police said. He will appear in court in London on Monday.

Once Britain's most high profile Islamist preacher, Choudary was imprisoned in Britain in 2016 for encouraging support for Islamic State before being released in 2018 after serving half of his five-and-a-half year sentence.

Choudary, former head of the now banned organization al-Muhajiroun, drew attention for praising the men responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the United States and saying he wanted to convert Buckingham Palace into a mosque.

His followers have been linked to numerous plots across the world.

A 28-year-old Canadian man, Khaled Hussein, has also been charged with membership of a proscribed organisation after being arrested on the same day as Choudary when he arrived on a flight at Heathrow Airport, police said.



(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Kate Holton and Angus MacSwan)