Anjem Choudary outside a bail hostel after his release from Belmarsh Prison. David Mirzoeff/ Press Association. All rights reserved.
The radical preacher Anjem Choudary was released early on 19 October from Belmarsh high-security jail in south-east London, having been moved there from Frankland prison in Durham, north-east England, where he had served two years and nine months for "inviting support for a terror group", in this case ISIS. (The full sentence was five and half years, but after half of this term the prisoner is entitled to be freed on parole). Choudary’s financial assets have already been frozen, and he is being placed under strict conditions aimed at blocking him from proselytising anew for extreme Islamist movements.
Before his arrest and sentencing, Choudary, who has a law degree from Surrey University, was widely regarded as one of the most effective preachers in support of such movements. He was active for the best part of twenty years, yet avoided imprisonment by being very careful in what he said. His legal background was part of the reason, but so was his subtlety in implying a message rather than explicitly declaring it.
