Tommy Robinson ordered Syrian schoolboys to pay £ 100,000 after defamation case defeat

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Tommy Robinson was ordered to pay £ 100,000 ($ 137,500) to a Syrian schoolboy who was attacked and filmed at school after losing his defamation case.

Stephen Yak Sley-Lennon, commonly known by Tommy Robinson, was sued by Jamal Hijaji, 18, who was assaulted at the Almond Berry Community School playground in Huddersfield in October 2018.

Shortly after the incident video spread in word of mouth, Robinson claimed in two Facebook videos that Hijaji was “not innocent, but violently attacking a young British girl at school.”

In a clip viewed by about a million people, 38-year-old Robinson claimed that Hijaji had “beaten a black and blue girl” and “threatening him to stab” another boy at school. Thursday’s ruling.

The judge ruled in favor of Hijaji, giving him £ 100,000 in damages and ordering Robinson to pay the costs that PA News Agency understands to be over £ 500,000 ($ 687,000). rice field.

Robinson, who attended a videolink remote hearing, said he was “rugged” at the cost claimed by Hijaji’s lawyer that it included £ 70,000 ($ 96,000) to prepare a witness statement. rice field.

He said: “I don’t have the money. I’m bankrupt. For the last 12 months I’ve had a lot of trouble with my problem … I don’t understand it.”

At a four-day trial in April, Robinson’s lawyer said Robinson’s comments had a “catastrophic effect” on boys and his family who came to Britain as refugees from Homs, Syria.

Robinson, on behalf of himself, claimed that his comments were practically true, and that he had “discovered dozens of explanations for offensive, abusive, and deceptive behavior” by Hijaji.

However, Nicklin did not say Robinson was “responsible for proving that his claim was true.”

“Actually, and for the reasons I explained, his evidence was terribly lacking. But he stuck to the serious claims he made at the beginning and even added them during the process. “He said.

“Plaintiffs had to confront them in the full glare and publicity of the High Court trial.

“It is my responsibility to reveal that the defendant has failed to defend the truth, to prove the plaintiff and to give him damages that represent fair compensation.”

The judge said Robinson’s video was “calculated to fuel the situation,” and that Hijaji was, as expected, a target of abuse and had to leave home and abandon his education.

Nicklin continued. “Defendants are responsible for this harm, and some of its scars, especially the impact on plaintiffs’ education, can last for years, if not a lifetime.”

In a brief hearing after the ruling was announced, Nicklin ordered Robinson to pay the court costs for Hijaji, which was not stated in court.

The judge admitted that as a result of Robinson’s bankruptcy, “there is a limit to what can be enforced against him.”

He also gave Hijaji an injunction against Robinson, preventing him from repeating the allegations made against him.

The judge said he wasn’t going to issue an injunction initially, but Hijaji’s lawyer said in a video released by Robinson on social media this weekend, “What was Hijaji?” Evidence and evidence “will be released. — Means that an injunction was needed.

Robinson said he was asked to make a film about an “already done” incident, adding that “the viewer must think (above) what happened.”

“My phone is now ringing like hell by journalists and the media,” he added, adding that the injunction he described as a “gag order” is “totally unnecessary.”

By giving an injunction, Robinson also said, “You seem to be trying to stop it (the movie), but the movie will be released in the United States anyway, so I don’t know what it means.” Told to.

Hijazi’s lawyer said he was “happy” that the teenager had won his claim.

Francesca Flood of Burlingtons Legal said:

“Jamal and his family now want to put this issue behind them so they can continue their lives.

“But they want to thank the masses of the British Empire for their support and generosity. Without it, this legal action would not have been possible.”

Robinson is often referred to as the “far right” and “Islamic aversion” because of his relationship with the English Defense League (EDL). Robinson co-founded EDL in 2009, but decided to leave the organization in 2013, “to counter Islamist ideology with the dangers of far-right extremism and better democratic ideas rather than violence. “Continuous need” was acknowledged.

The Epoch Times contributed to this report.

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