Radical British preacher Anjem Choudary sentenced to life in prison for directing a terrorist group

Radical British preacher Anjem Choudary was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for directing a banned terrorist group that a judge said had put many lives at risk.

Choudary, 57, was convicted last week in Woolwich Crown Court for directing the radical Muslim group al-Muhajiroun, or ALM, being a member of the banned organization and for drumming up support for it.

Justice Mark Wall said Choudary was front and center in running a terrorist organization” that “encouraged young men into radical activity.”

ALM was outlawed by the British government in 2010 as a group involved in committing, preparing for or promoting terrorism.

“Your actions while directing Al-Muhajiroun ran the risk of causing or contributing to the deaths of very many people,” Wall said. “In addition, by running an organization such as Al-Muhajiroun, you contributed in a significant way to the fear of terrorist attack by radical Islamic organizations which then existed in this country and abroad.”

Read more: AP