(Getty Images)
A popular Imam, Anjem Choudary,
known for his radical preaching has appeared before the Westminster
Magistrates' Court after being charged with inviting support for the
Islamic State.
Imam Choudary and another man, Mohammed Rahman, have refused to plead guilty to the charges against them.
BBC reports that Anjem Choudary was remanded in custody until 28 August.
Both
men have each been charged with one offence under section 12 of the
Terrorism Act 2000, alleged to have taken place between 29 June 2014 and
6 March this year.
BBC reporter, Simon Jones,
reporting from outside the court, said that when asked by the judge to
give an indication of how he would be pleading Choudary said: "Cameron
and the police are guilty."
The judge replied to say he took that to mean he would be pleading not guilty.
48-yr-old Choudary was described in court as a "high-profile figure" in the media and on social media.
The court also heard that the charge is related to him sending messages to his 32,000 followers on Facebook.
Choudary,
of Ilford in east London, and 32-yr-old Rahman of Whitechapel in east
London, were arrested on 25 September last year on suspicion of being
members of IS, which is a proscribed organisation.
Proscription
means membership of the militant group is a criminal offence, and that
the organisation cannot lawfully operate in the UK.
Sue Hemming, of the
Crown Prosecution Service, said: "It is alleged that Anjem Choudary and
Mohammed Rahman invited support for Isis [also known as IS] in
individual lectures which were subsequently published online."
Mr Choudary is the former UK head of Islamist group al-Muhajiroun - also known as Islam4UK - which was banned in 2010.
The
former lawyer planned an Islam4UK march through Wootton Bassett,
Wiltshire, to honour Muslims killed in the Afghanistan conflict, but
those plans were later scrapped.
The town is where repatriated bodies of dead UK soldiers were driven through the streets from nearby RAF Lyneham.
Ofcom
launched an investigation into interviews broadcast on BBC, ITV and
Channel 4 with Mr Choudary in the days following the murder of Fusilier
Lee Rigby.

