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Luton five jailed

Group of extremists with links to Anjem Choudary jailed for drumming up support for ISIS

They were brought to justice after an undercover officer infiltrated the Luton chapter of the banned group Al-Muhajiroun

A GROUP of extremists with links to hate preacher Anjem Choudary have been jailed for their part in drumming up support for ISIS following a major undercover police operation.

They were brought to justice after an undercover officer infiltrated the Luton chapter of the banned group Al-Muhajiroun (ALM) and secretly recorded speeches over 20 months.

 Zaiur Raham allowed meetings in his back garden
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Zaiur Raham allowed meetings in his back garden

At the meetings, attended by up to 80 people including young children, the group praised ISIS and urged people to travel to Syria to fight.

Five men who gave speeches or helped arrange the meetings were jailed at the Old Bailey for between two-and-a-half years and six years.

Group leader Mohammed Istiak Alamgir, 37, who hailed the Tunisia terror attack as a "victory", was handed six years in jail.

 Choudry, 23, from Maidenhead was found guilty at the Old Bailey after a retrial
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Choudry, 23, from Maidenhead was found guilty at the Old Bailey after a retrial

Judge Michael Topolski QC told him: "You are in my judgment deeply committed to an extreme and violent jihad. You are a dangerous man."

Rajib Khan, 38, was an "important and influential" member of the group and had hailed the Charlie Hebdo atrocity in Paris as "excellent news". He was jailed for five years.

Yousaf Bashir, 36, gave a speech lasting just three minutes but it was still "just as powerful" as the others, the judge said. He was given four years and six months' custody.

In one rant on July 2 2015, Mohammed Choudry, 23, spoke of "40 trucks driving down Oxford Street full of explosives", the Old Bailey was told.

 Rajib Khan, 37, of Luton was convicted of spreading ISIS hate
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Rajib Khan, 37, of Luton was convicted of spreading ISIS hate
 ALM came to public prominence last year when former chief spokesman Anjem Choudary was jailed for five-and-a-half years
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ALM came to public prominence last year when former chief spokesman Anjem Choudary was jailed for five-and-a-half yearsCredit: AP:Associated Press

Choudry, from Maidenhead, Berkshire, was imprisoned for four years for what the judge said was a "truly chilling" speech.

Zaiur Rahman, 39, helped to organise the series of meetings in July 2015 held in a marquee in his back garden and at a nearby Anglican church in Luton.

He was handed two years and six months in prison.

Judge Topolski praised the "courage and resourcefulness" of the undercover officer who had infiltrated the group and recorded their meetings.

The convictions came as a result of a Bedfordshire Police investigation into the activities of ALM in Luton in co-operation with the Metropolitan Police.

 Yousaf Bashir, 36, from Luton was convicted at a trial last August
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Yousaf Bashir, 36, from Luton was convicted at a trial last August

During the gatherings, Alamgir collected money for legal fees of convicted terrorist and ALM leader Omar Bakri Muhammed.

Following arrests in December 2015, police seized more than 270 electronic devices and recovered some 500 images and videos, including footage of Rajib Khan and Alamgir eating with Muhammed by a beach.

ALM came to public prominence last year when former chief spokesman Anjem Choudary, 49, was jailed for five-and-a-half years for inciting support for ISIS.

 Mohammed Alamgir, 37, will be sentenced at the Old Bailey at a later date
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Mohammed Alamgir, 37, will be sentenced at the Old Bailey at a later date
 The group were prosecuted at the Old Bailey in London
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The group were prosecuted at the Old Bailey in LondonCredit: Alamy

Detective Superintendent Glen Channer, from the Eastern Counter Terrorism Intelligence Unit, said: "This was a complex investigation which was launched to target those who seek to influence others with their poisonous rhetoric. We used a range of tactics to collect evidence in order to bring these men to justice."

Sue Hemming, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "The messages of hate and division spread by these men are totally unacceptable and have rightly led to their conviction."

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