Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Abdul Hadi Arwani: Police investigating murder charge man with possession of explosive substance

Abdul Hadi Arwani was found dead in his car

Kashmira Gander
Friday 24 April 2015 14:21 EDT
Abdul-Hadi Arwani was found dead in his car earlier this month.
Abdul-Hadi Arwani was found dead in his car earlier this month. (Family Handout/PA Wire )

Police investigating the murder of London preacher Abdul Hadi Arwani have charged a man with possessing an explosive substance.

Khalid Rashad, 61, from Wembley, was also accused of possessing ammunition for a firearm without a certificate.

Rashad has been remanded in custody, and is due to appear at Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court on Saturday.

Syrian-born Arwani, 48, was found shot dead in his car earlier this month. A former Imam at the An Noor mosque in Acton until early 2011 - after which point he concentrated on his own business ventures - Arwani was a vocal critic of Bashar Al-Assad’s brutal regime in Syria.

Last week, Leslie Cooper, 36, from Brent in north west London, appeared at the Old Bailey last week charged with Mr Arwani's murder.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command also arrested a 53-year-old woman in Brent on 15 April on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism. She was released with no further action on Wednesday.

A 36-year-old man detained on 17 April on suspicion of conspiracy to murder was bailed to a date in early May.

Additional reporting by PA

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in