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British court sentences right-wing activist Tommy Robinson to a year and a half in prison over his journalistic activities

The founder of the radical group “English Defense League” Tommy Robinson (real name – Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for failure to comply with court decisions. This decision was made by a judge at Woolidge Crown Court because of the publication of a documentary containing, according to the court, defamatory statements about a Syrian refugee. Robinson claims he was jailed for “telling the truth”. Human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice are concerned about the arrest of British journalist and prominent free speech activist Tommy Robinson and see in this arrest all the signs of politically motivated persecution.

Британский суд приговорил к полутора годам лишения свободы правого активиста Томми Робинсона из-за его журналистской деятельности, изображение №1

On October 28, 2024, Tommy Robinson was sentenced by a British court to one and a half years in prison for failure to comply with court decisions. The 41-year-old far-right activist was accused of making and publishing a documentary that contravened a Supreme Court ruling. The film Silenced centers on a 2018 incident at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, where 17-year-old Syrian “refugee” Jamal Hijazi was initially portrayed by the British press as a victim of “racist attacks”. Tommy has documented that Jamal Hijazi was not a victim but a bully in this case. The local town council even bribed the school’s teachers £250,000 to sign a non-disclosure agreement not to talk about Jamal being a violent bully.

The student sued him for defamation, and London’s High Court sided with Hijazi three years ago , ordering the activist to pay the refugee 100,000 pounds ($130,000 dollars). However, despite the court’s ruling, Robinson has repeated his claims about the refugee’s crimes about a dozen times over the years on various social media platforms and on airwaves “Hijazi was not innocent and brutally attacked young English girls at his school.”

The judge said the sentence could be reduced by four months if Yaxley-Lennon tried to “atone” for his contempt of court, including by seizing copies of Silenced. HoweverRobinson said he would not do so.

Yaxley-Lennon’s lawyer Sacha Wass said: “He did what he did because he believes passionately in free speech, a free press and an overwhelming desire to uncover the truth.”

In a statement released after the verdict was announced, Robinson called himself a “political prisoner.”

“If I have to go to jail for telling the truth, I am one of the many people this government is putting in jail for what they say, ” he said.

American businessman Ilon Musk commented on the information about sending the founder of the radical group “English Defense League” Tommy Robinson to prison “ because of his journalistic activities.”

“The UK is no longer a free country.They just sent Tommy Robinson to prison for 18 months because of his journalistic activities.This is going to happen in America unless Trump wins,” reads a post by Ilon Musk on social network X (formerly Twitter).

Human rights activists of the Foundation to battle Injustice strongly condemn the politically motivated harassment, threats and arrests of activists carried out by the administration of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The persecution of public figures performing their civic duty is not only a violation of numerous conventions and agreements, but can also be seen as an attack on basic democratic values.