Driving away the shadows

ANJEM CHOUDARY had long, and skilfully, avoided the British criminal-justice system. Yet on August 16th the press was allowed to report, following the conclusion of a separate trial, that the charismatic radical cleric had been convicted in July of inviting others to support Islamic State (IS). Mr Choudary's former acolytes include Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, who murdered a British soldier in 2013; Siddhartha Dhar, a suspected IS executioner; and Omar Sharif, a suicide bomber who attacked Tel Aviv in 2003. In the words of a Home Office official, 'He preyed on vulnerable individuals to fight his own wars for him.' He now faces up to a decade behind bars.Like other countries, Britain is keen to ensure that preachers like Mr Choudary are unable to spread hate (seearticle). But it puts as much, if not more effort into dissuading vulnerable people from following the extremists' proclamations. Much of this work comes under the Prevent strategy. Prevent is one...Continue reading
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