Six men guilty of supporting terrorism through speeches at a London mosque were sentenced to imprisonment on Friday.
Muslim preacher Abu Izzadeen who made extremist speeches on Nov.9 of 2004 as the U.S. and British forces fought fierce battles in Falluja, Iraq, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported on Friday.
Shah Jalal Hussain, 25, was convicted of terrorist fund-raising and breaking his bail conditions and jailed for two years and three months.
The defendants were all members of an extreme Islamist group known as Al-Muhajiroun, which has since been banned.
Abu Izzadeen, 33, from east London, was tried under his real name, Omar Brooks. He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years for fund-raising and four-and-a-half years for inciting terrorism overseas. His sentences will run concurrently.
Izzadeen made the news in 2006 when he heckled then Home Secretary John Reid during a speech in London's East End.
In November 2004, Izzadeen was recorded voicing his support for al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden and calling for a jihad-style war against coalition forces occupying Iraq.
Judge Nicolas Price told the defendants that, while freedom of speech was a central tenet of democracy, they had "abused" those rights in promoting terrorism.
He regarded Izzadeen and fellow Muslim convert Simon Keeler, 36,as "leading lights" of terrorism fund-raising and support.
Keeler, 36, received the same sentence as Izzadeen -- two and a half years for terrorism fund-raising and four and a half for inciting terror overseas.
Abdul Saleem, 32, was sentenced to three years and nine months for inciting terrorism overseas and Ibrahim Hassan, 25, was jailed for two years and nine months on the same charge.
Abdul Muhid, 25, was found guilty of fund-raising for terrorists, and sentenced to two years in jail.
The allegations at the heart of the trial concerned events on the evening of Nov. 9, 2004 when Hussain and others were said to have targeted rising anger among Muslims over the Iraq war.
Kingston Crown Court heard that speeches and calls for funds were made both inside and outside the London Central Mosque at Regent's Park, despite the opposition of the institution's authorities.
Source: Xinhua
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