British Muslim preacher Anjem Choudary has gone on trial charged with terrorism offences over speeches allegedly posted on YouTube.
The 49-year-old Choudary, of Hampton Road, Ilford, is charged alongside another man, Mohammed Rahman, 33, of Sidney Street in Whitechapel, east London.
Choudary and Rahman were arrested on September 25, 2014, before being bailed.
According to a report in The Times, last August they were charged with offences contrary to terrorism legislation.
Choudary and Rahman deny the charges against them.
Further details of the case cannot be reported for legal reasons. The trial continues.
Formerly a member of the now-illegal organisation al-Muhajiroun, Choudary had claimed it is an “obligation upon Muslims everywhere to support the Jihad against those who fight Muslims anywhere in the world or who occupy Muslim land”, a report in the Telegraph said.
Born in 1967 to a market trader, Choudary was raised in a semi-detached house in Welling, Kent, and pursued a medical degree after taking his A-levels. Choudary switched to law after failing his first year exams and went on to become a qualified solicitor and chairman of the Society of Muslim Lawyers. He was removed from the Roll in 2002.
But he later embraced radical Islamism and co-founded the extremist organisation al-Muhajiroun, working with the Islamist militant leader Omar Bakri Muhammad, the media report added.
Since the organisation was banned in 2004 under anti-terrorist legislation, he has been embroiled in controversy on numerous occasions.
In 2006, on the eve of the first anniversary of the 7/7 London bombings, Choudary said Muslims in Britain were “oppressed” and had the right to defend themselves “by whatever means”.
He had also urged Muslims not to cooperate with police in tackling terrorism and called for the assassination of the Pope.
In March 2009, Choudary posted a message on an extremist Islamic website in which he called a homecoming parade of 2nd Bn The Royal Anglian Regiment a “vile parade” of “brutal murderers”, the report said.
Choudary, who is of Pakistani descent, is married with five children.
