TOMMY Robinson is facing another gruelling stint in jail after previously “fearing he would be killed” in custody.
Today, Robinson was jailed for 18 months for contempt of court after showing a film containing slurs about a Syrian refugee at a protest.
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The 41-year-old, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, appeared at Woolwich Crown Court today after breaching a 2021 High Court order barring him from repeating the false claims.
The far-right activist was accused of being in contempt of court over having “published, caused, authorised or procured” a film titled Silenced, which contained the libellous allegations.
The Solicitor General said he “knowingly” breached the order on four occasions.
The former EDL leader has previously spoken out about his struggles in prison.
He said his prison sentence in 2018 was an attempt to “mentally destroy” him.
Robinson, who was released from HMP Onley in Rugby said he was subject to “solitary confinement” and treatment that amounted to “mental torture”.
He was released from the Category C prison after three leading judges in London quashed a contempt finding made at Leeds Crown Court.
Speaking to supporters in a video posted on Facebook at the time, Robinson said he had been a “target”.
He said: “What they have attempted to do is mentally destroy me.
“That was not a prison sentence. That was mental torture.
“That solitary confinement, all of it, everything was orchestrated and organised to cause me maximum disruption.”
The far-right activist would have been a category D prisoner under civil legal rules.
However, it was revealed that the prison service previously kept him in “complete isolation” for his own protection.
Sasha Wass KC claimed a previous three-and-a-half-month stint in solitary confinement left him suffering nightmares, severe anxiety, panic, irritability and other symptoms of depression.
He said: “I could be bitter and angry about everything that’s happened, but if I’m bitter and angry I’d accept my own victimhood. I’m their target, I’m not their victim.”
In 2019, Robinson also said he believed he would be “killed in prison” after broadcasting footage on social media of defendants in a criminal trial.
He explained that he was in prison at the time and had “given up” because he did not think he would be released, adding: “I believed I would be killed in prison, I didn’t think I was going to be released.
“I had given up… I genuinely was under the impression that I had been put in jail to be killed, so I had given up.
“I didn’t think I was coming out of there.”
Robinson also told the court at the time he had received training in media law after making previous mistakes in reporting.
ROBINSON JAILED
Today, Robinson was accused of being in contempt of court after the airing of the film Silenced at a protest in Trafalgar Square in July.
The 41-year-old appeared in the dock wearing a grey suit and waistcoat with no tie.
At the start of the hearing, Aidan Eardley KC, for the Solicitor General, said a “resolution” had been reached over the allegations.
Asked by Mr Justice Johnson whether he accepted he had committed the breaches, Robinson nodded and replied “Yes”.
Robinson stood with his hands on the edge of the dock and looked up at dozens of supporters, shrugging his shoulders, as the judge handed down the sentence.
He blew a kiss and waved to the public gallery as he was escorted out and down to the cells next to HMP Belmarsh.
Robinson had been barred from repeating false allegations against then-schoolboy Jamal Hijazi, who successfully sued him for libel.
The Solicitor General issued the first contempt claim against Robinson in June this year, claiming he “knowingly” breached the order on four occasions.
Lawyers previously told a judge that the breaches included Robinson having “published, caused, authorised or procured” a film titled Silenced, which contained the libellous allegations, in May last year.
