British activist Tommy Robinson has reportedly fled the country after being arrested under “anti-terrorism” laws ahead of a contempt of court hearing.
According to the attorney-general, who brought the latest action against Robinson for contempt of court over a 2021 defamation suit, he argued ahead of a High Court hearing scheduled for Monday that the activist was no longer subject to British jurisdiction.
It comes after Robinson Kent Police confirmed a 41-year-old man was detained on Sunday under anti-terrorism laws in the Channel Tunnel, which connects the UK with France.
This follows a large demonstration in London on Saturday, where Robinson screened his film. silencewas banned for making false claims about Syrian refugee Jamal Hijazi, but Hijazi sued Robinson for defamation in 2021 and won £100,000 damages.
Attorney General Adam Paynter said Robinson was believed to have left the country after being released on bail.
“We understand that he did not cooperate with the stop and search at the port, which means he was intending to leave the country and therefore was not intending to attend this morning’s hearing,” he said. Said by Daily Mail.
Tommy Robinson arrested under ‘anti-terrorism’ laws, supporters claimhttps://t.co/me35CERRUS
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 28, 2024
On Monday, the High Court ruled that Robinson was “outside the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom”. Mr Paynter told the court that the Attorney General considered that Robinson had returned to the UK “for the purposes of releasing the film” and then left the country again “beyond the jurisdiction of this court”.
The presiding judge, Mr Justice Johnson, said he was “totally satisfied” the trial could go ahead without Robinson attending, but said he would wait “until early October” to decide whether Robinson would return voluntarily for the next hearing.
Robinson’s supporters posted the following message to the verified account: Said“Tommy is going to be fighting a legal battle on two different fronts.
“He also asked me to tell everyone that ‘he is not going to go away quietly’ and that the truth needs to come out because it is in the ‘public interest’ to do so.”
