Tommy Robinson has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after acknowledging contempt of court for reiterating false claims against a Syrian refugee, violating an injunction.
The political activist, known by his real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, confessed to ten violations of a High Court order issued in 2021 at the beginning of a hearing at Woolwich Crown Court in south London.
Representatives for the solicitor general argued that the 41-year-old had been “thumbing his nose at the court” and “undermining” the rule of law, particularly by releasing a film titled Silenced, which features the defamatory allegations, last year.
The barristers for Robinson, who was dressed in a grey suit and white shirt, contended that it was his “principles that have led him to court.”
Court artist rendering of political activist Tommy Robinson being sentenced by Mr. Justice Johnson at Woolwich Crown Court, south London.
He remarked: “It was a planned, deliberate, direct, flagrant breach of the court’s orders.”
He went on to say: “Nobody is above the law. No one has the right to select which injunctions they will follow and which ones they will disregard.”
He further emphasized: “It is essential for the well-being of the entire community that injunctions are respected.”
Robinson, clad in a grey suit and white shirt, stood with his hands resting on the edge of the dock, gazing up at numerous supporters who were present, and shrugged his shoulders as the judge delivered the sentence.
A crowd of his supporters filled the public gallery and stood outside the court.
