Tommy Robinson LOSES Excessive Court docket libel case introduced by Syrian teenager who was movie being attacked at college as choose grants him £100,000 in damages
- EDL founder – whose actual title is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – sued by Jamal Hijazi
- After playground incident, Robinson claimed that he had ‘attacked English ladies’
- However a choose at the moment dominated in Jamal’s favour and granted him £100,000 in damages
English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson at the moment misplaced a libel case introduced by a Syrian schoolboy who was filmed being attacked at his college – touchdown him with a £100,000 invoice for damages.
The English Defence League founder – whose actual title is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – was sued by Jamal Hijazi, who was assaulted within the playground at Almondbury Group Faculty in Huddersfield in October 2018.
Shortly after the video of the incident went viral, Robinson claimed in two Fb movies that Jamal was ‘not harmless and he violently assaults younger English ladies in his college’.
Tommy Robinson (proper) was sued by Syrian refugee Jamal Hijazi (left) who was filmed being attacked at his college
Within the clips considered by almost a million individuals, the 38-year-old additionally claimed Jamal ‘beat a woman black and blue’ and ‘threatened to stab’ one other boy at his college, allegations {the teenager} denies.
At a four-day trial in April, Jamal’s attorneys stated that Robinson’s feedback had ‘a devastating impact’ on the schoolboy and his household who had come to the UK as refugees from Homs, Syria.
Robinson, who represented himself, argued his feedback have been considerably true, claiming to have ‘uncovered dozens of accounts of aggressive, abusive and deceitful behaviour’ by Jamal.
Nonetheless, in a judgment delivered on Thursday, Mr Justice Nicklin dominated in Jamal’s favour and granted him £100,000 in damages.
Catrin Evans QC, for Jamal, beforehand stated that Robinson’s feedback led to {the teenager} ‘going through loss of life threats and extremist agitation’ and that he ought to obtain damages of between £150,000 and £190,000.
Through the trial, Ms Evans described Robinson as ‘a well known extreme-right advocate’ with an ‘anti-Muslim agenda’ who used social media to unfold his views.
She added that Robinson’s movies ‘turned Jamal into the aggressor and the bully right into a righteous white knight’.
Nonetheless, Robinson maintained he was an unbiased journalist through the trial, telling the courtroom: ‘The media merely had zero curiosity within the different aspect of this story, the uncomfortable fact.’
Pictured: A video exhibiting Jamal being pushed to the bottom and ‘waterboarded’ on the sphere at his secondary college in Huddersfield, W. Yorks, was shared nationwide in November 2018
Jamal Hijazi’s lawyer, Francesca Flood, stated: “It took nice braveness for our consumer, Jamal Hijazi, to pursue his libel motion towards such a outstanding far-right and anti-Islam activist as Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, higher generally known as Tommy Robinson.
“We’re delighted that Jamal has been fully vindicated.
“Jamal and his household now want to put this matter behind them so that they’ll get on with their lives.
“They do, nonetheless, want to prolong their gratitude to the good British public for his or her assist and generosity, with out which this authorized motion wouldn’t have been attainable.”
The trial additionally heard proof from Bailey McLaren, the boy proven pushing Jamal to the bottom and pouring water over him within the broadly shared video, who denied being racist or a bully.
A listening to will comply with Thursday’s judgment to think about the results of the ruling.
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