Radical British cleric Anjem Choudary convicted of inviting support for IS

Britain's radical cleric Anjem Choudary has been found guilty of inviting support for the Islamic State (IS), British Sky News reported Tuesday.

Choudary, 49, has been convicted of inviting support for IS in a series of lectures released on YouTube, and is facing up to a decade behind bars, according to the British broadcaster.

The cleric is linked to 500 British extremists who have fled Britain to join IS in Syria and Iraq, Sky News reported citing security sources.

Choudary, from east London, insisted he was merely exercising his right to freedom of speech.

"If you look at my speeches, I have said the same thing for 20 years. For me, it is a matter of worship," he was quoted by Sky News as saying.

"If people are implementing the Sharia, then I cannot shy away from what the divine text says in relationship to that," he added.

"If you cannot say when you believe in something and you cannot share that view, then you don't really have freedom to express yourself in this country," said the cleric.

(APD)