Tommy Robinson, the court case and (guffaw) 'free speech'

[skyscraper101]

#FreeCheesey

 

[bemused]

I'm not a legal expert either. At first I just read the summary, which led me to believe that there weren't problems with the contempt, just the way that the judge dealt with it. Reading the full judgement though it seems there is some question as to what in the video might actually have broken the specific reporting restrictions on these trials. He's going to get his day in court - again - in any case.

I think the jist of it was they skipped over finding him in contempt and went straight to mitigation and sentencing.

 

[MightyTibberton]

Indeed. Partly because his lawyer - found pretty much on the spot - didn't contest it. It sounds like the video contains lots of generalised slurs but might not have broken the reporting restictions on the specific case.

 

[MightyTibberton]

The Tommy Robinson judgment – what does it all mean?

I followed this person around the time of the original Leeds contempt thing.

 

[not a trot]

So a retrial then? In London... Gawd. That'll be fun. I wonder what his bail conditions are...?

To drive to beachy head and throw himself off.

 

[ChrisD]

Radio 4 on now.... Gerard Batten (UKIP) saying what a hero TR is and comparing to Nelson Mandela/Suffragettes etc etc ... saying TR would vote UKIP...

 

[The39thStep]

Radio 4 on now.... Gerard Batten (UKIP) saying what a hero TR is and comparing to Nelson Mandela/Suffragettes etc etc ... saying TR would vote UKIP...

If UKIP had existed when Mandela, Ghandi, and the Suffragettes were going they would have campaigned for them to be tried for treason.

 

[mwgdrwg]

Radio 4 on now.... Gerard Batten (UKIP) saying what a hero TR is and comparing to Nelson Mandela/Suffragettes etc etc ... saying TR would vote UKIP...

Hey racist...tell your racist friends what do you think of this racist then.

 

[Rsf]

Tommy is gay.

Whilst I still have major reservations about why Cheesey was banned, I believe it was more owing to the totality of things including TR sympathies, rather than specific TR support.

I wouldn’t really say I support Tommy Robinson and I’d certainly never go on any street marches...

I think Tommy Robinson is a failure of the establishment, he’s the sort of person who shouldn’t be a political figure, but is due to establishment failure. He’s clearly a bit of a chancer who has committed other crimes such as false entry to the USA and assault in the past. He’s no saint. But I do genuinely believe that he himself has also been treated unfairly and persecuted by a corrupt establishment tring to sweep difficult issues under the carpet. He cannot simply just be called a racist and dismissed. Fortunately the latest Home Secretary seems to actually have a bit of integrity and a willingness to make difficult decisions so I’m hopeful that things will improve.

 

[sunnysidedown]

He’s no saint.

vote tommy. he loves his mum he does.

 

[The39thStep]

I wouldn’t really say I support Tommy Robinson and I’d certainly never go on any street marches...

I think Tommy Robinson is a failure of the establishment, he’s the sort of person who shouldn’t be a political figure, but is due to establishment failure. He’s clearly a bit of a chancer who has committed other crimes such as false entry to the USA and assault in the past. He’s no saint. But I do genuinely believe that he himself has also been treated unfairly and persecuted by a corrupt establishment tring to sweep difficult issues under the carpet. He cannot simply just be called a racist and dismissed. Fortunately the latest Home Secretary seems to actually have a bit of integrity and a willingness to make difficult decisions so I’m hopeful that things will improve.

Whats the Home Secretary been doing that makes that impression?

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

No surprises there then, his appeal was overseen by the most senior judge in England and Wales so I expected a sensible judgement but I don’t yet know the details.

Tommy Robinson has clearly been persecuted by the state for his political action and highlighted issues that parts of the establishment would rather have swept under the carpet. Had these issues not been swept under the carpet I don’t believe he would be the figure he is today.

His fraud conviction was for lending a family member money for a mortgage deposit (you’re not supported to borrow a deposit) in a case where the bank and nobody else lost any money. I’m sure millions of people must have done things like this. Yet only he seems to have been prosecuted for it. After the mortgage case his early release from jail conditions were that he wasn’t allowed to associate with people from the EDL. What has that got to do with mortgage fraud? Well I would guess that if your are in prison for mortgage fraud and your bail conditions are that you must not associate with the EDL then perhaps you weren’t really in prison for mortgage fraud. That’s a political prosecution and a political prisoner in my book.

His assault charge I agree with. He joined the BNP not realising that they were so racist (how this wouldn’t have been obvious to anyone I don’t know but the events that followed seem to suggest he really was politically that naive at the time), then left the BNP and expelled BNP members from the EDL and ended up assaulting far right infiltraters at an EDL demo. I agree that just because someone is a NAZI doesn’t mean you can just go around assaulting them. After tommy left the EDL and went to work for Quilliam the far right appear to have successfully taken over the EDL. The early EDL wasn’t organised fascism.

His first contempt of court was for a 45 second selfie video on the steps of a court. Will be interesting to read the facts about this one...

Well, you can fuck right off for starters.

 

[Rsf]

Hey racist...tell your racist friends what do you think of this racist then.

Gerard Batten isn’t a racist, however a poster on here (Edie I think it was) said he called Islam a “death cult” which is something I can’t defend. I hope he only meant that ISIS was a death cult but unfortunately I don’t think he did. I’m not going to attempt to defend the indefensible, criticism of religion is not racism and people have the right to criticise all ideas including religious ideas. But I don’t agree with this at all, I believe people should have the right to say these things but sometimes I do wish they wouldn’t say these things. I’m a fairly committed Christian (Church of Scotland) myself and attend church most weekends, Islam, like Christianity, covers a wide variety of beliefs and has a rich history with entire civilisations built upon its values in the past. Calling the entire religion a cult is outrageous in my opinion.

 

[Rsf]

Well, you can fuck right off for starters.

Yeah I think I will now, this entire forum is dripping with nasty spite and unnecessary verbal abuse.

 

[mwgdrwg]

Gerard Batten isn’t a racist...

 

[mwgdrwg]

Yeah I think I will now, this entire forum is dripping with nasty spite and unnecessary verbal abuse.

Off you fuck then.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Yeah I think I will now, this entire forum is dripping with nasty spite and unnecessary verbal abuse.

Bye then. Mind the steps on your way out, would be an awful shame if you fell down them.

 

[Ralph Llama]

RT`s coverage of Tommy`s celebrations :

 

[Toast Rider]

So tommy's legal team played the system: they knew the judge had committed a technicality but didn't invite him to follow correct procedure, as it were (a professional courtesy I assume).

is that right?

 

[Libertad]

I agree that just because someone is a NAZI doesn’t mean you can just go around assaulting them.

Yes you can.

 

[Fedayn]

Gerard Batten isn’t a racist, however a poster on here (Edie I think it was) said he called Islam a “death cult” which is something I can’t defend. I hope he only meant that ISIS was a death cult but unfortunately I don’t think he did. I’m not going to attempt to defend the indefensible, criticism of religion is not racism and people have the right to criticise all ideas including religious ideas. But I don’t agree with this at all, I believe people should have the right to say these things but sometimes I do wish they wouldn’t say these things. I’m a fairly committed Christian (Church of Scotland) myself and attend church most weekends, Islam, like Christianity, covers a wide variety of beliefs and has a rich history with entire civilisations built upon its values in the past. Calling the entire religion a cult is outrageous in my opinion.

You prefer your bigotry to be of the Presbyterian type? A few sashes and flutes?

 

[Sasaferrato]

Gerard Batten isn’t a racist, however a poster on here (Edie I think it was) said he called Islam a “death cult” which is something I can’t defend. I hope he only meant that ISIS was a death cult but unfortunately I don’t think he did. I’m not going to attempt to defend the indefensible, criticism of religion is not racism and people have the right to criticise all ideas including religious ideas. But I don’t agree with this at all, I believe people should have the right to say these things but sometimes I do wish they wouldn’t say these things. I’m a fairly committed Christian (Church of Scotland) myself and attend church most weekends, Islam, like Christianity, covers a wide variety of beliefs and has a rich history with entire civilisations built upon its values in the past. Calling the entire religion a cult is outrageous in my opinion.

So what is your view on Sharia law then? Perfectly happy that the word of a woman is worth ha;f of that of a man? Sharia and Islam are absolutely entwined, so don't try the 'Sharia isn't Islam' gambit.

 

[Sasaferrato]

RT`s coverage of Tommy`s celebrations :

 

[ddraig]

So what is your view on Sharia law then? Perfectly happy that the word of a woman is worth ha;f of that of a man? Sharia and Islam are absolutely entwined, so don't try the 'Sharia isn't Islam' gambit.

 

[DotCommunist]

captain mainwaring, enter stage right

 

[Sasaferrato]

So tommy's legal team played the system: they knew the judge had committed a technicality but didn't invite him to follow correct procedure, as it were (a professional courtesy I assume).

is that right?

I've not followed the case. Robinson can spontaneously combust, and it would be of little more than passing interest.

However, it is up to the prosecution and the judge to get it right, it is not up to the defence to correct them. Ignorance of the law is no defence in law, break the law and you get banged up, no leeway because you didn't know.

 

[MightyTibberton]

Whats the Home Secretary been doing that makes that impression?

Grooming: Sajid Javid orders officials to build profile of sex gangs

 

[pseudonarcissus]

I followed this person around the time of the original Leeds contempt thing.

just don't post the video to Facebook and you should be fine

 

[Ax^]

Yeah I think I will now, this entire forum is dripping with nasty spite and unnecessary verbal abuse.

One thing about these types that I always find odd is they tend to think that being a parent sort of gives them the right to hold dodgy views

Wtf is the logic "yay my dick works now I can be fash without anyone being able to pull me on it "

 

[Toast Rider]

I've not followed the case. Robinson can spontaneously combust, and it would be of little more than passing interest.

However, it is up to the prosecution and the judge to get it right, it is not up to the defence to correct them. Ignorance of the law is no defence in law, break the law and you get banged up, no leeway because you didn't know.

That was just my reading of the secretbannister article linked upthread, i'm sure I'm wrong