LONDON-Anjem Choudary, an Islamist cleric blamed for radicalizing young Muslims, was Tuesday sentenced to 5½ years in prison by a British judge following his conviction for supporting terrorism.
Advertisement
Jo Sidhu QC, who represented Choudary’s co-accused, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, said there was no evidence his client had inspired anyone to join IS.
The judge said: “At no point did either of you say anything to condemn the violent means by which ISIS claimed to have established a caliphate”.
“You are both mature men and intelligent men who knew throughout exactly what you were doing”.
“These men have stayed just within the law for many years and there has been frustration for both law enforcement agencies and communities as they spread hate”, said Dean Haydon, head of counter-terrorism at London’s Metropolitan Police.
The judge described Choudary as calculating and risky. “You are both fluent and persuasive speakers”. He supports the implementation of Sharia law throughout the United Kingdom and marched in protest at the Jyllands-Posten cartoons controversy, following which he was prosecuted for organising an unlawful demonstration.
Mr Rafiq said it was important for authorities to separate Choudary from other prisoners to avoid them from being radicalised and added a clampdown was needed to remove his online presence.
Supporters included Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, the murderers of Fusilier Lee Rigby, and suspected IS executioner Siddhartha Dhar who told him his views on the Caliphate would be “gold on Twitter”.
Before accepting it was legitimate, he also consulted his “spiritual guide”, Omar Bakri Mohammed, now in jail in Lebanon, and Mohammed Fachry, the head of ALM in Indonesia.
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”.
The court had also heard that Choudary and Rahman had pledged allegiance to the group and used Mohammed Fachry, a convicted terrorist, to publish the oath on an Indonesian website.
Advertisement
Despite protesting his innocence, Choudary continued to express extreme views, refusing to denounce the execution of journalist James Foley by so-called Jihadi John, aka Mohammed Emwazi, in Syria in 2014. Please see our terms of service for more information.
