Tommy Robinson Jailed: British Far-Right Activist Violates Court Injunction | World News

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, a British anti-Muslim activist also known as Tommy Robinson, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Monday after pleading guilty to contempt of court for violating an injunction issued after a successful libel lawsuit against him.
In 2021, Jamal Hijazi, a Syrian refugee, filed a libel lawsuit against Robinson in London’s High Court and was awarded 100,000 British pounds ($130,000) in damages. Robinson had been previously ordered not to repeat the false allegations that Hijazi, then a schoolboy, had bullied and threatened other students.
As part of the ruling, Robinson was also subjected to an injunction prohibiting him from repeating the defamatory statements.
However, he acknowledged in Woolwich Crown Court that he had breached the injunction multiple times during interviews broadcast on YouTube and in a documentary.
The Solicitor General of Britain launched legal proceedings against Robinson over comments made in online interviews and a documentary titled “Silenced”, which has garnered millions of views. The documentary was screened at a rally in London’s Trafalgar Square in July and was also shared on his X account.
Aidan Eardley, a lawyer representing the Solicitor General, informed the court that Robinson had been found guilty of contempt on three separate occasions and was jailed for it in 2019, and he also has a history of other criminal convictions.
Eardley argued that disobeying a court order poses a risk of undermining public respect for the judiciary. “The harm here is that millions of people see Mr. Yaxley-Lennon thumbing his nose at the court,” he added.
Robinson ‘s lawyer Sasha Wass said: “He acted in the way that he did, and he accepts his culpability, because he passionately believes in free speech, a free press and the overwhelming desire that he has to expose the truth.”
Wass further revealed that the film ‘Silenced’ had been “effectively commissioned” by Infowars, a company owned by US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
In his ruling, Judge Jeremy Johnson sentenced Yaxley-Lennon to 18 months in prison, with a reduction of three days for time already served following his arrest on Friday.
The judge offered Yaxley-Lennon the opportunity to reduce his sentence by four months if he attempted to “purge” his contempt, which would involve actions such as removing copies of ‘Silenced’ from circulation.
Robinson is a prominent far-right figure in Britain, known for founding the English Defence League (EDL), a nationalist and anti-Islamist organisation.
Earlier this summer, the 41-year-old was accused of inciting protests that escalated into a week of violent unrest across England and Northern Ireland.
He faced accusations from some media and politicians of inciting tensions that contributed to days of rioting across Britain at the end of July, following the murder of three young girls at a dance workshop in Southport.
Despite being unable to attend due to his imprisonment, thousands of supporters gathered in central London on Saturday for a Unite the Kingdom rally that Robinson had organised.
Robinson has a history of legal troubles, having previously been jailed for offenses such as assault, contempt of court, and mortgage fraud.
Although banned from Twitter in 2018, he was reinstated following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform, which has since been renamed X. Robinson currently has a following of 1 million on the social network.
(With input from agencies)