Jailed British anti-Muslim activist Robinson released on bail

Reuters
Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, widely known by his pseudonym Tommy Robinson, has become a flashpoint after he was imprisoned for 13 months earlier this year for breaching media reporting restrictions around a criminal trial. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP)
  • Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, was jailed for 13 months
  • He is a founder of the English Defense League, which has organized violent demonstrations against Islamic immigrants in the UK

LONDON: Jailed British anti-Muslim activist Tommy Robinson has been released on bail after his appeal against a conviction for contempt of court was partially granted by a London court.
He was arrested in late May outside a courthouse in Leeds, England, while making video recordings about a trial related to child molestation. He was jailed for 13 months.
Sources say his cause has been taken up by a representative of US President Donald Trump who raised the case with Britain’s ambassador to the United States following lobbying by the right-wing Breitbart.com website.
On Wednesday a judge ruled at a London court that the process that convicted Robinson was flawed. He will be released from custody pending a rehearing.
Robinson’s real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, though he uses a number of aliases. He is a founder of the English Defense League, which has organized violent demonstrations against Islamic immigrants in the UK in the past decade.

Topics: tommy robinson stephen yaxley-lennon