British radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary, whose followers have been linked to numerous plots around the world, was sentenced to life imprisonment 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. Once Britain’s most high-profile Islamist preacher, Choudary drew attention for praising the men responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and saying he wanted to convert Buckingham Palace into a mosque.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan