UK court sentences radical preacher Choudary to 5½ years

LONDON (AP) — A U.K. court has sentenced 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.

He gained attention for headline-grabbing statements that provoked outrage but stayed within the bounds of the law, such as protesting outside the U.S. Embassy on the anniversary of the Sept. 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 said the oath had been made without his knowledge.