Edmonton man jailed for holding membership to Islamic terror group
Unsealed court documents, obtained exclusively by Global News, show Khaled Hussein, 29, was part of Al-Muhajiroun, a terrorist group intent on spreading Sharia law worldwide.
An Edmonton man was complicit in acts of terror abroad before returning to Canada years ago, records show.
Unsealed court documents, obtained exclusively by Global News, show Khaled Hussein, 29, was part of Al-Muhajiroun, “a radical organization intent on spreading Sharia law” throughout the globe. It permitted violence “where necessary.”
The United Kingdom barred the group in 2010 “because of the danger it poses,” said Bethan David, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Counter Terrorism Division.
“Such extremist views are a threat to our society.”
The group claimed responsibility for the 2017 London Bridge killings and the murder of Lee Rigby.
A Canadian man has been convicted of following a proscribed organization in the U.K., following a weeks-long trial. Khaled Hussein, 29, of Edmonton, was accused of supporting radical Muslim group Al-Muhajiroun. The group's preacher, Anjem Choudary, was convicted of directing a… pic.twitter.com/SGPOG3unZ6
— Eagle Eye (@SortedEagle) July 25, 2024
Hussein, an Alberta native, received a five-year prison sentence last week for joining the extremist group in 2020. He spent much of his life in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, a known hotbed for Islamic terror.
The RCMP launched an investigation in October 2019 concerning Albertans “who recruit, radicalize, and facilitate entry into violent extremism.”
Hussein’s online activities put him on their radar as he allegedly shared content from “jihadi preachers,” including Anjem Choudary, 57, a key organizer for Al-Muhajiroun and a U.K. national.
The RCMP confirmed Hussein supported Choudary as his personal assistant, hosting online lectures with extremists, editing blogs, and sharing extremist content “on a global scale.”
Please RT! See what happened when @KTHopkins visited the #London bail house where hate preacher Anjem Choudary was taken after being released from prison, having only served HALF his sentence — and refusing deradicalisation... MORE: https://t.co/c3umUDlTi4 | #UK #Islam #tcot pic.twitter.com/cX2MNudwhK
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) October 21, 2018
In 30 lectures, Choudary encouraged his followers to perpetuate acts of violence through “thinly disguised … lessons in Islamic theology.”
Hussein expressed “support of jihad, mainly against Israel,” and was considered a “staunch supporter and member of the Islamic Thinkers Society” (ITS) or Al-Muhajiroun.
London police Counter Terrorism Command immediately arrested Hussein last July 17 when he arrived in the U.K. to meet his fiancée, a Russian woman living in Turkey.
Court records show he refused to give police access to an electronic device at the time. “Khaled is against violence and he likes doing research on things that interest him,” it says.
Hussein’s mother, Sherri Hanson, said her son never showed signs of radicalization nor did he talk about ITS or Choudary, according to court documents.
Legacy media ignores Islamic terrorist attack at Edmonton City Hall
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) January 29, 2024
Bezhani Sarvar was apprehended by an unarmed commissionaire despite carrying a long rifle and a Molotov cocktail before anyone was injured in the attack, though shots were fired in the building and at least one… pic.twitter.com/BBgXe4mdwu
The judge, responsible for sentencing both individuals, said groups like Al-Muhajiroun “drive wedges between people who otherwise could and would live together in peaceful co-existence.”
On July 30, Choudary was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum of 28 years, following a six-week trial. He was convicted on counts of directing a terrorist organization, holding membership, and encouraging support for a terrorist organization.
“It is clear that both men were members of Al-Muhajiroun and both men had a radical mindset,” said David. “Anjem Choudary was responsible for directing an international terrorist organization and Hussein provided him support.”
“The CPS will always seek to prosecute those who support and encourage terrorism.”
Their sentencing in the U.K.’s Woolwich Crown Court came two days after the RCMP foiled an alleged terror plot by father and son, Ahmed and Mostafa Eldidi.
The cases renewed focus on “religiously motivated violent extremism,” a brand of terrorism Canadian intelligence says “will continue to pose a domestic threat in 2024.”
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