Radical Preacher Anjem Choudary Jailed For Inviting IS Support

Radical preacher Anjem Choudary has been jailed for five and a half years after being convicted of inviting support for Islamic State.

His co-accused, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, was given the same sentence. The maximum sentence was 10 years.

When the sentence was handed down, there was a shout of "Allahu Akbar" from Choudary's supporters in the public gallery, before the court was cleared.

Choudary became Britain's best-know Islamist preacher, and his followers were implicated in numerous plots around the world.

During the trial, the jury were shown pictures of Choudary and Rahman at a demonstration outside the Lebanese embassy in central London in April 2014, before the so-called Islamic State group was proscribed.

Some of the crowd were holding placards which had writing at the bottom which said: "Islamic State Is Solution" with the first letter of each word underlined to make ISIS.

The Old Bailey heard he had used online lectures and messages to encourage support for IS.

Judge Mr Justice Holroyde told both defendants: "You expressed contempt for the values by which we live."

He said Choudary and Rahman were free to support ISIS, but not free to invite others to do so. "It is a crime," he said.

And he added that the absence of any direct link with those carrying out acts of terror for IS, did not mean their crime was not serious.

Statements from Rahman in November 2013, under the Twitter name @AbuBaraaUK said: "Re-establishing the Khilafah (Caliphate) is a compulsory duty on all Muslims."

Another, on Facebook, said: "If anyone says martyrdom operations are not allowed ... do not take ilm (religious advice) from him."