LONDON: British radical preacher Anjem Choudary, whose followers have been linked to numerous plots around the world, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 28 years on Tuesday for directing a terrorist organisation.
Choudary, 57, was convicted last week of directing Al Muhajiroun, which was banned as a terrorist organisation more than a decade ago, and encouraging others to support the proscribed group.
"Organisations such as yours normalise violence in support of an ideological cause, Judge Mark Wall told Choudary at London's Woolwich Crown Court.
"Their existence gives individuals who are members of them the courage to commit acts which otherwise they might not do. They drive wedges between people who otherwise could and would live together in peaceful coexistence." Wall imposed a life sentence on Choudary with a minimum term of 28 years before he can be eligible for parole, less just over the year that he has spent in custody since his arrest.
Long in the authorities' sights, Choudary has already spent time in jail for supporting the IS group.
His return to prison comes after a jury last week convicted him of being the "caretaker" leader of Al-Muhajiroun (ALM), which was proscribed in the UK in 2010.
The group was founded in 1996 by London-based Syrian-born cleric Omar Bakri Muhammad with the goal of establishing an Islamic caliphate in the UK.
Its members have been implicated in a number of attacks, including the murder of British soldier Lee Rigby in 2013, and attacks on London Bridge in 2017 and 2019.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
