Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary tells court that a joke he made about 9/11 during lecture on the anniversary of terror attack was 'inappropriate'
Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary has told a court that a joke he made about 9/11 during a lecture on the anniversary of the shocking terror attacks was 'inappropriate'.
Choudary is accused of directing a terrorist organisation called al-Muhajiroun (ALM) and taking part in online meetings.
The 57-year-old was previously convicted of supporting ISIS in 2016.
Choudary, of Ilford, east London, is said to have given lectures to the New York-based Islamic Thinkers Society (ITS), which prosecutors allege was 'the same' as ALM.
During an online meeting on September 11 2022, Choudary laughed while telling listeners that Omar Bakri Mohammed, who founded ALM, once advised charging members of the British media £9.11 to enter a place of worship where a press conference on the anniversary of 9/11 was held.
Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary (pictured) denies directing a terrorist organisation, being a member of a proscribed organisation and addressing meetings to encourage support for a proscribed organisation
The 57-year-old from Ilford, east London allegedly joked that the British media should be charged £9.11 to enter a place of worship where a press conference on the anniversary of 9/11 was being held
In the passage, which has been shown to jurors during his trial at Woolwich Crown Court, Choudary could be heard saying that Mohammed also suggested starting the conference at the time the first plane went into the North Tower.
He also joked that some members of the press from Japan paid to attend, saying 'irony is completely lost on the Japanese'.
Questioned about this on Tuesday, Choudary said: 'My joke was about the Japanese, saying they don't understand sarcasm or irony.'
Defence barrister Paul Hynes KC asked Choudary if he believed it was 'inappropriate' to joke on the anniversary of the worst terror attacks seen in America.
The defendant replied: 'In hindsight, it probably wasn't a good joke, people say things when they're tired or relaxed ... it was just a funny thing about the Japanese paying £9.11.'
He added: 'It was a joke, you don't really think about it, people joke about a lot of things.'
Prosecutors said the 'sickening' joke may tell jurors about the 'collective mindset' of those attending the lecture.
Asked for his views on 9/11, Choudary said it is 'prohibited' for someone 'to hijack a plane with innocent people and fly into a building'.
Choudary told jurors: 'You cannot target anyone innocent, ever, in any kind of operation.'
Several lectures were recorded by undercover officers in 2022 and 2023.
ALM was proscribed as a terror organisation in the UK in 2010, though it is said the group has continued to exist under various names.
Choudary attending a demonstration outside the Saudi Embassy in London in 2022 after his government restrictions were lifted following his release form prison
The preacher pictured outside a hostel he was staying in under strict licence conditions after his release from prison in 2018 following a conviction of inviting support for ISIS
Choudary has previously said that ALM was disbanded in 2004 because Mohammed had a shift in ideology.
Mr Hynes asked Choudary if he has ever directed a proscribed terror group, to which the defendant replied: 'No, never.'
Choudary told jurors that he has 'always made sure that I abide by the laws in this country'.
He denied inviting support to ALM through lectures to ITS because the group 'didn't exist'.
Choudary said 'you can not say they (ITS) are ALM' because they differ in ideology, structure and methodology.
Earlier in the trial prosecutors told the jury that Choudary appeared in a video posted on YouTube in 2016 entitled 'The History of Dawah in Europe' in which he referred to 'Islamic Thinkers' as 'our branch in America'.
Asked about this, Choudary said: 'They branched off, they were doing their own thing.'
The defendant said he became aware of ITS' existence in 2010 but was not communicating with members until he started giving online lectures to them in 2021.
He told jurors: 'I was not doing much, I was just out of prison (after the 2016 conviction) and doing some talks online, this was another request and I accepted it.'
Asked why he agreed if ITS members had criticised ALM in the past, Choudary replied: 'I didn't know about the attacks until the police evidence in this case.'
Also on trial is Khaled Hussein, 29, from Canada, whom prosecutors say was a 'follower and dedicated supporter' of Choudary.
He has pleaded not guilty to membership of ALM while Choudary denies directing a terrorist organisation, being a member of a proscribed organisation and addressing meetings to encourage support for a proscribed organisation.
Choudary was arrested in east London on July 17 of last year while Hussein was detained at Heathrow having arrived on a flight the same day.
The trial continues.
