Radical cleric Anjem Choudary, long a thorn in the side of British authorities, was jailed in London Tuesday for five-and-a-half years after being convicted of encouraging support for Islamic State (IS) jihadists. Supporters of the 49-year-old and his co-defendant Mohammed Mizanur Rahman - who received the same sentence - shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) from the public gallery as the judge announced his decision, according to an AFP journalist.
Judge Timothy Holroyde, in the ruling handed down at the Old Bailey court, said Choudary was "calculating and dangerous" and had shown no remorse. Dressed in a white robe, Choudary showed no emotion as the sentence was passed. "A significant proportion of those listening to your words would be impressionable persons looking to you for guidance on how to act," said the judge.
Commander Dean Haydon, Head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, said the men "certainly had an influence in radicalising others, poisoning the mind of vulnerable people in the communities. "They were certainly in contact with terrorists overseas," he added outside court. A jury had convicted both men in July. Choudary is the former head in Britain of Islam4UK or al-Muhajiroun, a now-banned group co-founded by Omar Bakri Muhammad that called for Islamic law in Britain."