British far-right activist Tommy Robinson has been sentenced to 18 months in prison

London
CNN
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British far-right political activist Tommy Robinson has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after he admitted contempt of court by repeating false allegations about a Syrian refugee, according to court documents.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, admitted on Monday that he had broken British court rules 10 times.

Robinson, the founder of the now-defunct anti-immigrant English Defense League (EDL), was accused of repeating false allegations that led to him losing a libel lawsuit in 2021.

The first defamation case involved Robinson making false allegations against a Syrian student who was attacked in an incident that was widely reported on social media. In 2018, footage emerged showing the 15-year-old – a refugee from Syria – being taunted, grabbed by the throat and pushed to the ground as other pupils at his school in Huddersfield, northern England, watched.

At the time, Robinson made allegations against the teenager in several social media videos, which he then deleted, falsely claiming that the teenager had attacked English girls. The far-right figurehead later admitted to posting a fake photo purporting to show violence by a Muslim gang. According to British news outlet PA Media at the time, Robinson was ordered to pay 100,000 pounds ($130,000) in damages and legal costs and was ordered not to repeat the false claims.

In sentencing on Monday, a judge at Woolwich Crown Court in London said Robinson had broken court rules by posting a film on social media called “Silenced” in which he repeated the defamatory allegations. He also played the film publicly in London's Trafalgar Square at a rally for his supporters and repeated the allegations in published interviews, the judge said.

“The violations were neither accidental, negligent, nor simply reckless,” Judge Johnson said said during the sentencing hearing. “The breaches exhibited a degree of sophistication in that they involved the planned publication of material in a manner intended to achieve maximum coverage.

“All of his actions indicate that he considers himself above the law,” the judge added. “No one is above the law.”

Robinson was removed from Facebook and Instagram in 2019 for posting anti-Muslim content and engaging in activities offline in support of hate figures and groups, Facebook said in a statement at the time.

But his controversial 90-minute film “Silenced” remains pinned on Robinson's X-Feed and has been viewed by millions of people, the website says.

A lawyer for Robinson argued that “he acted as he did and he accepts his guilt because he believes passionately in free speech,” PA Media reported.

Aidan Eardley, representing the Attorney-General, told the court: “This is not about Mr Yaxley-Lennon's political views… This is about disobedience to a court order and the consequent undermining of the rule of law.”

On Saturday, thousands of Robinson supporters gathered in central London for a far-right rally – an event he missed because he was already in police custody. According to London's Metropolitan Police, the far-right activists were met by anti-racism counter-demonstrators.