Convicted IS supporter Choudary was banned from France, had Belgium links
Radical Islamic preacher Anjem Choudary, who has been convicted of supporting the Islamic State (IS) armed group by a British court, was banned from entering France indefinitely and inspired a fundamentalist group in Belgium, home to several of last year's Paris attackers.
Issued on: Modified:
Choudary was arrested in 2014 along with codefendant Mohammed Mizanur Rahman for pledging allegeance to IS and found guilty by a court in London following a trial in London last month.
Legal restrictions meant the verdict could not be made public until now.
Choudary is the former head in Britain of Islam4UK or al-Muhajiroun, a now banned group cofounded by Omar Bakri Muhammad that called for Islamic law in Britain.
Rahman served two years in jail for encouraging followers to kill British and American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq during a protest in 2006.
Choudary became infamous for praising the men responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the United States and saying he wanted to convert Buckingham Palace into a mosque.
His organisation spawned a copycat movement, Sharia4Belgium, an organistion that sent volunteers to fight in Syria and which is credited with a significant role in the growth of radical Islam in Belgium.
Paris attackers based in Belgium
Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam, who had joint French-Moroccan nationality but had grown up in Belgium, fled to Brussels after apparently backing out of his suicide mission and found several accomplices to help him hide there before his arrest in April.
His brother Brahim Abdeslam and Bilal Hadfi, who also took part in the attacks, were French but lived in Belgium.
The attacks' alleged mastermind, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was born in Belgium and had joint Moroccan-Belgian nationality, as did Chakib Akrouh and alleged accomplice Momahed Abrini.
Belgian and French prosecutors say that the Paris attackers had links with the authors of attacks in Brussels that followed.
One of the alleged Brussels plotters, Bilal El Makhoukhi, was sentenced to five years in jail in 2014 after going on trial alongside several members of Sharia4Belgium.
Choudary banned from France
Choudary himself was banned from entering in France indefinitely in 2011 when he tried to come to protest against the French government's burka ban.
Omar Bakri and another controversial British figure, Abu Izzadeen, were also turned back on arrival at Calais and 61 people were arrested for participating in the protest, which had been banned.
Choudary and Rahman face a maximum of 10 years behind bars and will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 6 September.
To read our coverage of the November Paris attacks and their aftermath click here
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe