Pam Barker | Director of TLB Europe Reloaded Project
Due to some prior travel commitments, ER got behind the ball on the Tommy Robinson story breaking at the end of this week, so we’re making up for it here. In ascending order is RT‘s original report on the topic, which got subsequently banned along with certain others in the MSM by a British government D notice and which can now be found in archived form. Below also is Stefan Molyneux‘s 8 minute video reaction to the story. An update on the story, dated today from the Hull Daily Mail, a local daily in the UK, is that Robinson has been sent to Hull jail: Tommy Robinson supporters say he is in ‘grave danger’ in Hull Prison. This is copied below in case it gets banned, too.
Hull jail is a category B jail – a closed prison but not of the maximum security type, category A for the most serious offenses related to murder, violence and terrorism. The jail incarcerates people but it’s also a prison where those arrested while awaiting trial are sent, i.e. held on remand.
He had been filming men entering Leeds Crown Court, where a grooming trial is taking place.
Robinson was arrested for allegedly breaching the peace after an hour of broadcasting.
As he was being bundled into a police van, Robinson was heard to say: He said: “This is ridiculous. I haven’t said a word. I’ve done nothing. This isn’t contempt of court. You are allowed to do this, aren’t you?”
Contempt of court is a criminal offence that can see people jailed for speeches or publications that create a “substantial risk that the course of justice in the proceedings in question will be seriously impeded or prejudiced.”
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Posting on Facebook, Helen Lel Gower wrote: “Due to the reporting restrictions set down by the Judge, I am unable to report on anything said or done in the Court room.
“Tommy’s Solicitor is meeting Tommy on Tuesday to discuss what next steps can be taken, if any, she was deliberately mislead by the Police who informed her on the phone that he was being released and when she asked for confirmation that he would be released and that there was no need for her to travel to Leeds they informed her that was correct.”
HMP Hull in Hedon Road(Image: Jack Harland)
She urged people to contact Robinson to send “messages of support, money for postage stamps, phone calls and food/toiletries”.
She added: “Tommy is okay so far.”
Another supporter wrote on YouTube: “TOMMY will be well looked after in hull prison he knows all the top boys from Grimsby who know all the top lads in hull it’s our local jail rest assured TOMMY will be treated as a legend.”
Writing on Twitter, Kenny Hawks said: “HEY PEOPLE .. PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION AND HELP TOMMY ROBINSON … HIS LIFE IS IN GRAVE DANGER IN HULL PRISON … SIGN THIS NOW AND GET ALL YOUR FRIENDS TO SIGN IT …. THIS IS FOR ALL OUR FREEDOMS.”
Tommy Robinson speaking in Leicester
Mr Robinson was serving a suspended sentence for committing contempt of court during a gang rape case last year when he was arrested on Friday.
He was handed a three-month jail sentence last May, but saw it suspended for 18 months.
Mr Robinson co-founded the English Defence League, and served as spokesman until his resignation in 2013.
He has also spent time as the joint party vice-chairman of the British Freedom Party, and has more recently worked with think tank Quilliam to discuss alternative ways of tackling extremism.
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STEFAN MOLYNEUX
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Tommy Robinson arrested for ‘breach of the peace’ after chasing down accused child abusers
EDL leader-turned independent journalist Tommy Robinson has been arrested in Leeds after confronting defendants outside a courthouse as they entered to face trial over sexual abuse allegations.
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Robinson and his team were producing a live video for social media as several of 29 defendants accused of child sex abuse and neglect entered the courthouse.
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In a video posted to social media, Robinson – a self-modeled defender of free speech – can be seen arrested by a team of police officers. He is put in the back of a police van, with officers telling him that he was being arrested for “incitement” and “breach of the peace.”
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Tommy Robinson has been arrested in Leeds court for reporting on grooming gangs. More updates to follow
RT spoke to Robinson’s producer, Caolan Robertson, about the confrontation outside of Leeds Crown Court and Robinson’s subsequent arrest.
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“Their case has been going on for about a year,” Robertson said. “Tommy had all the publicly available information… and on that live stream he repeated the information that was already public. We were very careful with language [as to not risk being held in contempt of court].”
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Videos already shared to social media show Robinson walking near the alleged rapists, goading them for comment. The men reacted aggressively before police intervened.
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Robinson, his producer, and another member of Robinson’s media team were present at the courthouse. The trio have said that, aside from two onlookers, they were the only people present at the court.
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“A big police van with about seven police officers pulled up and arrested [Robinson] and told him to stop live streaming,” Robinson’s producer said. “They said it was incitement and a breach of the peace.
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“No peace has been breached – there were two other people there and he’s been perfectly quiet talking into his phone. [The police] said nothing about the court proceedings. It’s very strange.”
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The case in question has previously seen enraged picketing outside the courthouse, with protesters seen in April hurling and screaming abuse at defendants as they arrived at court. The case has seen 29 people charged in an inquiry into child sex abuse and neglect in Huddersfield.
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The alleged offences took place in the town between 2004 and 2011 and involved girls aged between 11 and 17. Twenty-seven men have been accused of offences against 18 people, including rape and trafficking. Two women are charged with child neglect. In total, the 29 defendants face a total of more than 170 charges.
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Robinson’s team told RT that they will now head to the police station, where they will try to find out more information about why Robinson was arrested. RT UK reached out to West Yorkshire Police for comment, but the force declined. A spokesman said that they could not comment as they “don’t identify arrested people.”
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Robinson has previously been arrested for contempt of court after filming outside Canterbury Crown Court in May, for “incitement” after a protest in 2013, and was jailed for 18 months for mortgage fraud in 2014.
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Latest reports indicate that Robinson has just been released from custody. (ER: see the first report from the Hull Daily Mail above which shows that reports of his release were false.)
1 Comment on Banned RT report on Tommy Robinson, reaction and update on his whereabouts
So, how about the British Court’s obvious infringement and contempt-of-UDHR, article 19, that was included – especially – for controversial cases such as this…?
UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights), Article 19:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
“To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.” – Frederick Douglass.
So, how about the British Court’s obvious infringement and contempt-of-UDHR, article 19, that was included – especially – for controversial cases such as this…?
UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights), Article 19:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
“To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.” – Frederick Douglass.