Omi Robinson Will find out if he won or lost a defamation lawsuit brought against him by an agency Syria The boy who was filmed was attacked at the school.
This Defence League of England The founder—real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon—was sued by Jamal Hijaz, who was recorded as being bullied on the playground of Almondbury Community School Huddersfield October 2018.
Soon after the video became popular, Robinson claimed Facebook A video watched by nearly 1 million people showed that Jamal was “not innocent. He violently attacked young British girls at school”.
The 38-year-old also claimed that Jamal had “beaten a black girl” and “threatened to stab” another boy at his school. The teenager denied the accusation.
Judge Nicklin was originally scheduled to make a decision on Monday, but the decision was postponed until Thursday afternoon.
During the four-day trial in April, Jamal’s lawyer stated that Robinson’s remarks had a “destructive effect” on Jamal and his family’s arrival in the UK as refugees from Homs, Syria.
Catrin Evans QC described Robinson as a “famous far-right advocate” whose anti-Muslim agenda uses social media to spread his extremist views.
Ms. Evans said that Robinson’s remarks caused Jamal to “face death threats and extremist incitement” and that if the teenager wins the claim, he will receive between 150,000 and 190,000 pounds in compensation.
Throughout the trial, Robinson insisted that he was an independent journalist and told the court: “The media has no interest in the other side of this story, the disturbing truth.”
Robinson claimed to have “exposed dozens of offensive, abusive and deceptive behaviors by Jamal” and defended these comments as being basically true.
He said people donated nearly £160,000 to the GoFundMe page set up for claimants, and he believes it is important for people to get a “balanced view”.
Robinson, who represented himself, added: “I only reported what I was told. This is what I did in this court to find the truth.”
The trial also heard evidence from Bailey McLaren. The boy appeared in a widely shared video to push Jamal to the ground and pour water on him. He denied that he was a racist or a bully.
Robinson continued: “Almondbury Community School certainly has its failures, but racism and racist bullying are not one of them.”
He added: “Just because (Jamaal) may be a victim does not automatically mean that he himself cannot be a nasty, swearing, and often violent young man, especially for girls and younger, younger people. boy.”
After the verdict is delivered at 2 pm on Thursday, a virtual hearing will be held to discuss the consequences of the verdict.
