U.K. judges deliver 2nd slapdown to Tommy Robinson
WND
Two British judges have delivered a second slapdown to activist and Muslim critic Tommy Robinson, finding him guilty of contempt for posting a video taken outside a court during the trial of Muslims who eventually were convicted of gang rape.
Robinson had been sentenced to 13 months for contempt when he posted an interview with individuals outside the court in 2018. He appealed and was released for two months, but prosecutors re-filed charges.
Reuters reported Friday two judges found Robinson, the co-founder of the English Defense League, in contempt for making the video recordings outside a courthouse in Leeds. The video revealed the identities of some of the defendants who were charged with grooming and sexually exploiting young girls.
The case ended in the convictions of more than a dozen Muslims for sexual offenses against girls in what has become known as the Huddersfield grooming gang case.
The grooming and sex abuse happened between 2004 and 2011, and the 20 defendants were convicted in three different trials in 2018.
Critics claimed the court’s censorship rules amounted to a “cover-up” of the fact that the perpetrators were Muslims.
Robinson was arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to 13 months all within three hours. His appeal, however, was successful, and he was released after two months. The government’s chief legal adviser, Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, then restarted proceedings against him.
Cox warned, after Robinson’s conviction, that anyone could be at risk for posting “material online that breaches reporting restrictions.”
“I would urge everyone to think carefully about whether their social media posts could amount to contempt of court,” he warned.
Robinson’s sentencing is schedule later. The maximum penalty is two years in prison.
The BBC reported one of the judges, Victoria Sharp, accused Robinson of “aggressively confronting and filming” some of the defendants, who mostly were from Muslim-majority Pakistan.
The United Kingdom’s rules differ from those in the United States. In the U.K., courts can suppress information about trials, and they can prosecute anyone not affiliated with the court or any party in the case for revealing information the judges want withheld.
Article printed from WND: http://www.wnd.com
URL to article: http://www.wnd.com/2019/07/u-k-judges-deliver-2nd-slapdown-to-tommy-robinson/