Paul Weston, Ezra Levant, and the MEF on Tommy’s Release

Just after Dymphna posted the earlier video by Paul Weston, he uploaded this one about the release of Tommy Robinson from prison:

Ezra Levant of Rebel Media (whom Tommy thanked for his help) filed this report from London about the conditions Tommy had to endure while he was inside:

As Tommy acknowledged in his brief video from home, the Middle East Forum provided him with major financial support and legal assistance. Their efforts were crucial in securing his release from prison. Here’s the press release from the MEF:

The Middle East Forum applauds the release of Tommy Robinson from prison this morning, after the UK anti-Islamist activist won his appeal over a contempt of court sentence.

In June, Mr. Robinson, a long-time target of UK authorities, was covering a rape-gang trial involving Muslim defendants in England when he was arrested, tried, convicted, sentenced to 13 months prison, and jailed — all in the course of five hours, all while denied access to counsel.

The full resources of the Middle East Forum were activated to free Mr. Robinson. We:

1.   Conferred with his legal team and made funding available to them;
2.   Funded, organized and staffed the large “Free Tommy” London rallies on June 9 and July 14 (see The Times, The Guardian, and the Independent);
3.   Funded travel by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) to London to address the rally; and
4.   Urged Sam Brownback, the State Department’s ambassador for International Religious Freedom, to raise the issue with the UK’s ambassador.
 

What precisely happened: In an extraordinary decision, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales — the head of the judiciary in England and Wales, roughly equivalent to the American chief justice of the Supreme Court — himself wrote a judgment rejecting the kangaroo-court verdict that had Tommy Robinson instantly thrown in jail for over a year because of an obscure Contempt Act that a UK media guide says “in practice … is not enforced.” Lord Chief Justice Burnett denounced what he called “a fundamentally flawed process” and in a further rebuff to the kangaroo-court judge, assigned Tommy Robinson’s case to someone else.

MEF president Daniel Pipes commented: “This validates the #FreeTommy campaign’s claim that Tommy Robinson, yet again, had been treated (in the words of his autobiography’s title) as an enemy the state. We at the Middle East Forum are delighted by this turn of events and look forward to the charges against Tommy Robinson being considered in a sober, neutral, and un-rushed manner.”

If the MEF provides the same level of support in preparation for Tommy’s court appearance in October, it could cause major heartburn for Her Majesty’s Government. It will be interesting to see what happens this fall.

10 thoughts on “Paul Weston, Ezra Levant, and the MEF on Tommy’s Release

  1. Paul Weston is an admirable man … the more I listen to him the more respect I have for him. Bravo, Sire – you make me believe the once great country of Great Britain is not consumed by the leftist, PC and appeasement cancer – yet.

  2. Hopefully these videos might ease slightly the pessimism of some of your contributors…

    Ezra Levant’s question, ‘who made the decision to have Tommy treated in this way,’ needs an answer. Who told the guards to act in this way towards Tommy, why did the guards acquiesce when quite clearly such action will be contrary to their code of practice, who told those who told the guards. The buck must stop somewhere and we need to know where.

    It is a human right (article III of the European convention on human rights) to be ‘free from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment’ – Tommy should seek assistance from the European Court of Human Rights – what a nice irony that would be.

    Giving Ezra a couple of bob for a coffee on the flight home.

    Go get ’em.

  3. What Tommy endured in custody is clearly actionable as the authorities have deliberately indulged in dereliction of duty at every level. Can you see them treating a muslim like that? I think Tommy’s team should go on the offensive and put the establishment on the back foot for a change. Time for another crowd fund?

  4. Argh. TR was arrested on 25 May. The press release says “In June”.

    • That interview with Tucker Carlson was a disgrace. Carlson should have either given him enough time to speak or not had him on at all; I’ll tell him so in his Twitter feed, though that’s a busy place. Carlson is a man of integrity, perhaps he can make some kind of amendment for inflicting further suffering.

      • It’s tv. Have to keep the show moving because viewers are considered to have short attention spans and to insert more commercials. Tv is so meretricious. Shame on Tucker. He always is cutting off guests. “We have to run.”

        • Not good enough in this instance, Spencer. This man has endured torture for his stand against child abuse. What has Carlson done but back up for his check?

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