Fascist ‘Tommy Robinson’ (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) was this morning, Thursday 11 July, sentenced to another prison term after being found guilty of contempt of court last week.
A high court judge said, “Robinson would spend 19 weeks behind bars reflecting time already served in jail, of which he will serve half behind bars before being released“.
Stand Up To Racism spokespeople were outside the court, stressing the importance of continuing opposition to his divisive politics of hate. (See video HERE)
Robinson has been a central figure of the Islamophobic far-right in recent years, organising a series of demonstrations aimed at stirring up racial and religious hatred. Before founding the English Defence League (EDL) he was a member of the fascist British National Party.
In the wake of being found guilty last week, Robinson has “begged” US president Donald Trump for asylum. On the far right Info Wars channel, Robinson claimed that “The country has fallen.” Robinson said he had “no future in Britain”.
Robinson is also currently being sued for allegedly defaming a Syrian refugee who was filmed being attacked at his school in Huddersfield.
Robinson was defeated in his campaign to become an MEP for the North West region in May 2019. Stand Up to Racism and Unite against Fascism organised a dynamic, grass-roots campaign to stop Robinson’s toxic efforts. The reach of that campaign led Robinson himself to say he was repeatedly asked by voters, “Aren’t you a Nazi?”
As the announcement that Robinson had been found guilty came at the Old Bailey last week, journalists were threatened and spat at by Robinson supporters, who also threw beer cans at police.
Lord Hain said
“Tommy Robinson has made a grubby career out of the English Defence League with its proven record of racist, Islamophobic and antisemitic violence, intimidation and hatred.”
Weyman Bennett, joint convenor of Stand Up to Racism, said
“ What our argument is, is that ‘Never Again means never again. Every time you see these people start to organise you must never let them get any confidence, because at the end of the day what they’ll do is destroy any form of democracy. These people want to bring back people like Hitler and Mussolini.
“Every racist murder–every struggle that we are involved in is to make sure that that doesn’t happen. That’s why we are standing out here today. It’s not always great to be standing out here, seeing that group of Nazis, but it’s not millions, it’s not thousands, it’s because we have kept them small. Let’s keep it that way.”
Julie Sherry, Stand Up to Racism national organiser, said
“It’s good that this Nazi is going down, that he will not be on our streets or targeting our communities for the weeks to come. It’s good that he has another blow inflicted to his poisonous agenda of hate. It’s good because he tried despicably to cynically exploit a very serious issue, and masquerade as some champion of women’s rights when in reality he doesn’t care about victims of sexual violence. In fact, he propigates deeply sexist views and has ignored abuse in the far right movements and organisations he has led.
“But his sentence is too short. From the victory Stand Up To Racism won in stopping him as an MEP in the North West, to building mass demonstrations that demoralised his supporters on the streets in recent months, the lesson is clear: we need to re-double our efforts to build a mass anti racist movement that can continue to oppose the likes of Robinson, as well as the growth of populist right wing politics from Trump to Farage to Johnson.”
Sabby Dhalu, joint convenor of Stand Up to Racism, said
“Stephen Yaxley-Lennon’s real agenda outside Leeds Crown Court was to stir up Islamophobia and racism. Within weeks of this video being posted there were violent attacks on Mosques, Sikh temples, trade unionists and anti-racist campaigners. There is a direct link between hate speech and racist and Islamophobic attacks on the ground.
“Our campaign against Tommy Robinson was effective because we challenged his racism & Islamophobia and challenged the myth that the only perpetrators of sexual violence are Pakistani or Muslim men. We stand for justice for all victims of sexual violence, whatever their religion or ethnicity. All research into the sexual abuse and exploitation of women and children shows that the perpetrators come from a range of backgrounds, as to the victims. Trials regarding the sexual abuse and exploitation of young women and children must take place freely and fairly, and the issue must not be used to whip up racism & Islamophobia.
“Following last year’s imprisonment of Tommy Robinson, the far right and fascists, funded and supported by Donald Trump supporters of the Republican right, mobilised in large numbers under the slogan ‘Free Tommy Robinson’. Everyone that values diversity, freedom and democracy must be vigilant and prepared to oppose possible violent far right demonstrations.”
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