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British Prison for Fundamentalists to Evade Spreading Extremist Intellect among Inmates | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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The prison entrance, Anjem Choudary appears in the frame. (Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic)


London- British interior ministry sources have revealed that some highly dangerous fundamentalist members in British prisons were transferred last week to what has become known as the “British Guantanamo” in Durham, a step that falls under the government efforts to eradicate the extremist intellect in prisons.

This new prison is known among terrorism experts and the British media as the “British Guantanamo” for being the first of three centers established inside prisons to incarcerate 28 inmates accused of committing violent extremist crimes.

Michael Adebolajo, who is accused of killing Lee Rigby, and extremist preacher Anjem Choudary are among those isolated in the new prison.

A British court had issued a life-imprisonment sentence in the case of Islamists for killing British soldier Rigby in one of London’s streets in 2014.

“Those who spread views that might incite others to commit terrorist offenses, or whose extremist views are purposely undermining good order and security in jails, could also be shifted to one of the facilities,” said the British Ministry of Justice in a statement.

Prisons Minister Sam Gyimah declared that the isolation centers were “an absolutely crucial element of our wider strategy to tackle extremism in prisons and ensure the safety of the wider public.”

More than 4,500 frontline prison officers have been trained to identify and challenge extremist views and new recruits will receive the training as standard.

“Extremism must be defeated wherever it is found. The most dangerous and subversive offenders are now being separated from those they seek to influence and convert,” Gyimah added.

However, the justice ministry refused to confirm whether the decision to transfer the inmates has other security reasons.