Khaled Hussein worked at a gas station in Edmonton, Alberta when the RCMP started investigating his connection to violent extremism in 2019
Canadian man Khaled Hussein was convicted on multiple charges in the United Kingdom under the Terrorism Act, along with radical British preacher Anjem Choudary on Tuesday.
Hussein, 29, of Edmonton was convicted of membership in a proscribed organization.
An RCMP investigation discovered that Hussein was involved in the Islamic Thinkers Society (ITS), also known as Al-Muhajiroun (ALM).
Hussein, who previously worked at a gas station in the province, was identified as a person of interest.
Through an undercover operation by the RCMP, officers found out that Hussein had been sharing ITS and ALM information on a “global scale” and taking direction from 57-year-old Choudary.
A crucial part of the investigation was proving there was a connection between ITS and ALM. Undercover RCMP officers, as well as officers from the New York Police Department, were able to link the two groups when Hussein described ITS as “being” ALM in a voice note to an undercover RCMP officer.
In June 2023, the RCMP became aware that Hussein was making plans to travel to England from Alberta. The RCMP contacted international law enforcement agencies in the United States and in the United Kingdom to alert them.
Hussein was arrested on July 17, 2023 upon landing at Heathrow Airport. Choudary was arrested the same day.
The jury on Tuesday found that Choudary was guilty of directing a terrorist group. Prosecutors said Hussein was a dedicated supporter of the group.
Choudary was convicted in Woolwich Crown Court of membership in a banned organization, the radical Muslim group ALM, and for drumming up support for the group.
ALM was outlawed by the British government in 2010 as a group involved in committing, preparing for or promoting terrorism.
“ALM’s tentacles have spread across the world and have had a massive impact on public safety and security,” Metropolitan Police Cmdr. Dominic Murphy said. “There are individuals that have conducted terrorist attacks or traveled for terrorist purposes as a result of Anjem Choudary’s radicalizing impact upon them.”
Prosecutor Tom Little, who described Choudary as having a “warped and twisted mindset,” said that he had stepped in to lead ALM after Omar Bakri Muhammad, the group’s founder, was imprisoned in Lebanon between 2014 and March 2023.
Choudary, who was previously convicted of supporting the Islamic State group, denied at trial that he promoted ALM through his lectures, saying ALM no longer exists.
Prosecutors said the group has operated under many names, including the New York-based ITS, which Choudary has spoken to.
ITS was ALM’s U.S. branch, said New York Police Deputy Commissioner Rebecca Weiner, who called the case historic.
“It is usually the foot soldiers, the individuals who are brought into the network who go on to commit the attacks who are brought to justice,” Weiner said.
“And it’s rarely the leader, which is what makes this a particularly important moment.”
Sentencing is scheduled for July 30.
With additional reporting by the Associated Press
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