Radical UK cleric gets jail for supporting IS

Radical cleric Anjem Choudary, long a thorn in the side of British authorities, was jailed on 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 said Choudary was “calculating and dangerous” and had shown no remorse in a ruling handed down at London’s Old Bailey court. 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.