UK Court Sentences Edmonton Man to 5 Years in Prison for Terrorism Offences

Khaled Hussein of Edmonton was sentenced to five years in prison by a British court on July 30, 2024, for his membership in a terrorist organization. (Metropolitan Police/Handout)

A Canadian citizen and resident of Edmonton was sentenced to five years in prison by a British court for his membership in a proscribed terrorist organization.

Khaled Hussein, 29, was handed his sentence in a Crown court at Woolwich on July 30, alongside British radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary.

The two men were convicted for their involvement in Al-Muhajiroun, a group seeking to establish an Islamic theocracy and was listed as a terrorist entity in the UK in 2010. The group is not banned in Canada.

In his sentencing remarks, Justice Mark Wall described the group as a “radical organisation intent on spreading Sharia law to as much of the world as possible using violent means where necessary.”

Followers of the group have been linked to terrorist attacks, including on London bridges in 2017.

Mr. Choudary’s lawyer, Paul Hynes, downplayed the importance of the group during the trial, calling it “little more than a husk of an organisation.”

Mr. Choudary was handed a 28 years prison sentence for his alleged role as leader of Al-Muhajiroun and encouraging its support. He had been previously convicted in 2016 for inviting support for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Justice Wall said Mr. Hussein had become a member of Al-Mujahiroun under its operating name as the New York-based Islamic Thinkers Society. Facebook messages indicate Mr. Hussein was a member from 2020 up to his arrest in 2023, the judge said.

Justice Wall said Mr. Hussein knew the Islamic Thinkers Society was a front and that it was “clear that you idolised your co-defendant and were taken in by his rhetoric.”

The judge noted that Mr. Hussein lived in Canada and could not actively take part in the activities of the group. Justice Wall said, however, that Mr. Hussein assisted Mr. Choudary “in a number of ways” such as setting up websites and distributing magazines.

RCMP’s Involvement

The RCMP said it played an “instrumental” role in securing the convictions of the two men in the UK, despite Al Muhajiroun not being banned in Canada.

The federal police force said its Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) in the Northwest Region opened an investigation in Alberta in 2019 focused on terrorist recruiters, radicalizers, and facilitators.

Mr. Hussein, who worked at an Edmonton gas station, was identified through the project, the RCMP said in a statement outlining its investigation. The outfit said it discovered, in part through undercover work, that Mr. Hussein was “heavily involved” in the Islamic Thinkers Society and was taking direction from Mr. Choudary.

The RCMP collaborated with the FBI and UK Metropolitan Police on the matter and warned London before Mr. Hussein was about to travel there. He was arrested upon arrival at London’s Heathrow Airport in July 2023.

“This investigation is truly an example of how information and intelligence sharing as well as collaboration between countries is vital to stopping the spread of online extremism and radicalization,” said RCMP Assistant Commissioner Lisa Moreland in the release.

In handing down the sentence to Mr. Hussein, Justice Wall said there were no aggravating factors to his offending, except that he refused to unlock his “electrical equipment” for police after his arrest. Police have not yet been able to access the device, the judge said.

Sentencing remarks also note Mr. Hussein had no previous convictions and received supportive testimonials from family and former colleagues.

“There is some evidence of your naivety and lack of maturity but as you did not answer police questions or go into the witness box during your trial, I have little evidence of its extent and can therefore attach little weight to this as a mitigating factor,” added Justice Wall.

The judge handed down a six-year sentence, saying he doesn’t find Mr. Hussein to be dangerous. The sentence includes five years in prison and one year on probation. He can be released after serving two-thirds of the sentence but would remain on probation afterwards for the full six years.

Other residents of Alberta have been involved in terrorist activity in recent years. Hussein Borhot of Calgary was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in 2022 for joining ISIL in Syria. His cousin Jamal Borhot is currently undergoing trial facing similar charges, to which he has pled not guilty.

Reuters contributed to this report.