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Tommy Robinson, founder of the far-right group’s English Defense League, lost his appeal for an 18-month prison sentence due to court empt.
He dismissed the challenges Robinson brought against the verdict he received last October.
Robinson challenged his sentence, but he received it for repeated false allegations against Syrian refugees on health grounds.
His lawyer told the Court of Appeals that he suffered from a condition that included complex post-traumatic stress disorder, and that his incarceration “has made him sick.”
However, in Wednesday’s ruling, the judge discovered there was no basis for reducing sanctions, explaining the judge’s legal reasoning, who originally declared him “scrupulous and impeccable.”
Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, the 42-year-old, released a video in 2018, claiming that refugee Jamal Hijazi was part of the gang and took part in a violent attack. The video has been viewed almost a million times, and Hijaji has become the target of abuse.
Hijaji sued Robinson for honourable losses, and the High Court issued an injunction in 2021 preventing him from repeating the claim.
However, Robinson continued to publish a video titled “Silencing” which includes a statement banned by the order.
The lawyer made two applications against him to emptie the court, and Robinson admitted that he had violated 10 injunctions.
Judge Johnson, Robinson’s ruling last year, described the violation as “a serious violation of the court’s order.”
At the appeals court last week, Robinson’s lawyers stressed that he was separated while in prison, saying “there are serious consequences for the way he is being held.”
They pointed to medical reports from professional psychologists, describing Robinson’s imprisonment would make him “more sick than Judge Johnson could have foreseen.”
However, in judicial ruling Wednesday, a judge in the appeals court said the conditions in which he was in custody were “substantially harsher or even more troublesome than the judge foreseeable.”
The judge also said Robinson, who is due to be released in July, could be released early if he shows his commitment to comply with the injunction.
