Story highlights
Anjem Choudary and another man, Mohammed Rahman, are charged with supporting ISIS
Choudary is granted bail, though he must adhere to certain conditions to remain free
Controversial British preacher Anjem Choudary pleaded not guilty Friday in a London court to a charge of supporting a terrorist organization, namely ISIS.
The judge in London’s Southwark Crown Court granted bail to Choudary, under certain conditions he must meet in order to remain free through his trial. The earliest that he would get out is Monday.
Choudary had been granted bail previously, only to be taken into custody two weeks ago for violating his previous bail conditions.
He and another man, 32-year-old Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, were originally arrested in September 2014. He was then released on bail, but his passport was confiscated, Choudary told CNN. The cleric then appeared last August in Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on the charge of supporting terrorism.
Sue Hemming, head of special crime and counterterrorism at the Crown Prosecution Service, said at that time that the two men stood accused of “inviting support for ISIL [ISIS], a proscribed terrorist organization, between 29 June 2014 and 6 March this year.”
“It is alleged that Anjem Choudary and Mohammed Rahman invited support for ISIS in individual lectures which were subsequently published online.”
CNN’s Barbara Arvanitidis reported from London, and Greg Botelho reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN’s Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report.
