UK court jails radical Muslim preacher for promoting IS

A UK court sentences one of Britain’s best-known radical Islamic preachers to 5½ years in prison for encouraging support for the Islamic State group.

The 49-year-old Anjem Choudary, who has been one of the best-known faces of radical Islam in Britain for years, was convicted in July. Authorities see the firebrand as a key voice radicalizing young Muslims.

British Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary arrives at the Old Bailey in London on January 11, 2016 for the start of his trial on charges of inviting support for Islamic State (IS). (AFP PHOTO/Adrian DENNIS)

He gained attention for headline-grabbing statements that provoked outrage but stayed within the bounds of the law, such as protesting outside the US Embassy on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

But the London-born preacher ran into trouble in 2014 after his name appeared on an oath declaring the legitimacy of the “proclaimed Islamic Caliphate State.”

Choudary says the oath was made without his knowledge.

— AP