[yvs04]

I probably agree with Richie 95% of the time but on this not so much. I know he can't stand Tommy Robinson and I can't say that I'm a fan either but on this issue I'm with him 100%. Do I think he handled the situation properly? No. Do I think he was stupid? Yes. But no way does what he did deserve a prison sentence. People have received far less for crimes of violence. I've watched some of the coverage about this from a spectrum of people and he was taken straight to court, not allowed his own solicitor, given a 13 month prison sentence and then the judge put reporting restrictions on the case. In my opinion all of that was persecution which is why I signed the petition on his behalf.

The police have ignored and indeed covered up this issue for decades. Have any senior police officers been sent to prison or lost their jobs over this? No. So why should someone be sent to prison for exposing it because that is what it boils down to. Where has been the outcry about this from most of the mainstream media? Nowhere. What have we heard from the MeToo movement? Nothing. Have we heard protests from the sanctimonious "I'm so caring" middle-class uber feminists? No. If the victims had been middle class and the perpetrators anything but Muslim they would have been screaming from the rooftops.

We  cannot have a justice system based on identity politics. The statue of justice on top of the law courts is blindfolded for a reason. All should be treated equally before the law. How perpetrators or victims are treated should not depend on their class, religion ethnicity or anything else but the nature of the crime. Would you want someone to get away with awful crimes because they shared the same religion or nationality as you? No of course you wouldn't and neither would the vast majority of decent progressive Muslims. They aren't the ones doing the covering up, it's the cowardly politicians and members of the establishment and they need to be called out on it.

Tommy Robinson pleaded guilty to Contempt of Court and was represented in court by Matthew Harding, who has stated that Robinson felt "deep regret" after realising the potential consequences of his actions.

I am no fan of his either but I admire Tommy Robinson's tenacity, spirit and passion and of course would defend his or anyone else's right to freedom of speech. However, I have no dog in this race. He is not above UK law and he should have been smarter. He was fully aware of the consequences of his actions in filming and live streaming outside of the court during a trial that had reporting restrictions upon it. He is not a political prisoner, nor is he a victim. He played himself straight into the hands of the law on this occasion. I hope this schoolboy error of judgement does not make him a martyr in prison because that will no doubt spark a civil / race war and then we're all fucked.

I've seen a plethora of outraged YouTube videos from people in the UK and abroad made by people who have no clue about the British Judicial system and who have jumped to all kinds of incorrect conclusions about the arrest. Granted the full facts weren't known at the time but Tommy Robinson is no victim in all of this. He's a grown ass man who knows fine well what contempt of court means. Richie's article is the first sensible & non hysterical thing that's been written about this whole sorry mess.

From the BBC website: Why contempt of court matters?

"Contempt of court is the crime of ignoring the court and its constitutional role in making sure that justice is done.
Robinson was convicted of contempt for interfering with a trial in Canterbury.
His attempts to film defendants on that occasion could, the judge said, have "prejudiced" the jury, leading to an unfair verdict - and he was warned he'd go to jail if he did anything remotely similar again.
Why couldn't we initially report Robinson's arrest and jailing? Reporting restrictions are a long-standing part of the British legal system. In this case, the judge ordered a temporary media black-out because he feared reporting Robinson's conviction could influence the jury in the very case Robinson was targeting.
This is not some new form of censorship directed at Robinson. These are rules that apply to us all, equally. If he is unsure about that, he's now got time on his hands to read a copy of Essential Law for Journalists.

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Robinson was already subject to a suspended sentence for a contempt charge related to a separate case in Canterbury.
The judge had warned him then he should expect to go to prison if he committed further offences.
Robinson was given 10 months in jail for contempt of court, and a further three months for breaching the previous suspended sentence.
Judge Geoffrey Marson QC initially imposed restrictions for fear that reporting his arrest would prejudice an ongoing trial".

And from The Sun: What is contempt of court and Why can you be jailed for it?CONTEMPT Tommy Robinson was today jailed for contempt of court after publishing material that could prejudice an ongoing trial.


In the UK, a person can be found in contempt of court if they wilfully defy a court order.


According to the Crown Prosecution Service, the main types of the offence can be physically interfering in a trial, threatening witnesses or obstructing justice.
Showing disrespect to a judge can also be contempt of the court.co
If someone is in contempt of the Magistrates' Court, a person can be imprisoned for one month or face a fine of up to £2,500.


But for those in contempt of a crown court, they can be jailed for up to two years or face a fine.


In the UK, media can only report the facts of a case.

In the US, contempt of court is generally not considered to be a criminal offence.
Due to the First Amendment, the media outlet cannot be found in contempt of court.urt and why can you be jailed for it?