Radical cleric Anjem Choudary, long a thorn in the side of British authorities, was Tuesday jailed in Britain for five-and-a-half years after being convicted of encouraging support for the Islamic State jihadists.

Supporters of the 49-year-old and his co-defendant Mohammed Mizanur Rahman -- who received the same sentence -- shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) from the public gallery as judge Timothy Holroyde announced his decision in London, according to an AFP journalist.