(New York, NY) – British citizen and convicted ISIS propagandist Anjem Choudary will be freed this month after serving only half his prison sentence.

Choudary, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, and several others were arrested in 2014 after Choudary pledged allegiance to ISIS and encouraged others to do the same. Choudary was convicted in 2016 and sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail. His expected release is due to a British law that allows prisoners with non-life sentences to be released on probation after completing 50 percent of their sentences.

Choudary is a founding member of extremist group al-Muhajiroun, which was subsequently banned in the United Kingdom. Choudary has been linked to many extremists and multiple terrorist-related cases in the United Kingdom and Europe, including the 2017 London Bridge attack and the 2013 murder of British soldier Lee Rigby.

U.K. prison safety expert and CEP Advisor Ian Acheson, in a recent op-ed, said: “It is likely that Choudary will continue to represent a serious threat to public safety and order when he is released. It seems inconceivable that any of the processes available to assist with the reintegration of offenders in the community will be applicable in his case."

To read CEP's report on Anjem Choudary, please click here.
To read CEP's report on Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, please click here.
To read the CEP report, Guide to Online Propagandists, please click here.
To read the CEP report, United Kingdom: Extremism and Counter-Extremism, please click here.