UK Jails Free-Speech Activist and Journalist for Reporting on Child Sex Trial
U.K. activist and journalist Tommy Robinson was arrested and reportedly jailed Friday for reporting live, on-camera from outside a Leeds courtroom where members of an alleged child grooming gang (which is essentially the UK term for child sex ring) were being tried for child rape. The details of his purported sentence "remain murky after the judge ordered the press not to report on the case," according to this Fox News article.
Police informed Mr. Robinson he was being arrested for "breach of the peace" and, within the span of a few hours, a judge tried, convicted and sentenced him to 13 months in jail. The judge also issued a gag order, demanding a total news blackout in the case, throughout the British news media.
"I am trying to recall a legal case where someone was convicted of a 'crime' which cannot be reported on," said Gerald Batten, UKIP member of the European Parliament. "Where he can be cast into prison without it being possible to report his name, offence, or place of imprisonment for fear of contempt of court. Can anyone remember such a case?"
On Saturday, supporters of Robinson protested outside the gates of 10 Downing Street. Although thousands of protesters descended on the scene to protest Mr. Robinson's imprisonment, according to some reports, this event was also a banned news topic that could not covered by media, by extension.
Most British media outlets were remarkably compliant. Many news stories that had already been posted online after Mr. Robinson's arrest were promptly pulled down. There is no way to know whether this was done voluntarily or not, but either way the alarming communist overtones are unmistakable.
Sources with knowledge of Robinson’s case spoke on condition of anonymity, in part because of fear they would be arrested for contempt. One told Fox News that Robinson’s lawyer warned that, considering the presence of Muslim gang members in prison, a 13-month sentence was tantamount to a death sentence.
Britain has been hit by a series of child sex scandals, perpetuated by gangs of predominantly Muslim men. This has impassioned activists like Mr. Robinson, who oppose Islamic migration.
Mr. Robinson has long been a polarizing figure in the U.K., with supporters saying he speaks out against political correctness and the growing influence of Islamic extremism, while opponents claim he is a racist who stokes fear and division.
Is it racist to report on the alleged wrongdoings of a Muslim? Isn't a crime a crime regardless of who commits it? And aren't the helpless children the real victims here—not those convicted of raping them or selling them into pedophile rings?
Whether you believe Mr. Robinson's views are inherently racist and therefore "wrong," isn't freedom of the press and freedom of speech the foundation and lynchpin of any liberated society that allows free thought and expression?
If we tell people what to think and how to express themselves, and if we ban the media from covering and publishing stories that may "upset the public," we have officially exited the liberated Western world as we know it, willingly walked behind a new iron curtain, and entered a new version of hell.
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