Syrian teenager who won Tommy Robinson libel case: ‘I’ll use the money to do good’

Kieran Galpin

Robinson’s money will go to a good cause

The Syrian teenager who won the case against alt-right commentator Tommy Robinson has now said he will use the £100,000 to do good.

Three years ago, Jamal Hijazi was a 15-year-old schoolboy in Huddersfield when he was attacked and verbally harassed by a fellow pupil. The video went viral online.

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, pushed himself into the narrative and falsely claimed that Hijazi was assaulting girls at school. As a result, both Hijazi and his family had to flee their homes and relocate to the Midlands.

For Jamal, Catrin Evans QC described Robinson as ‘a well-known extreme-right advocate’ with an ‘anti-Muslim agenda’ who used social media to spread his views. She also added that Robinson’s videos ‘turned Jamal into the aggressor and the bully into a righteous white knight.’

The news can be pretty awful these days, but sometimes – just sometimes – Tommy Robinson is forced to donate six figures to a refugee https://t.co/G2Yjg0Olr0

— James Felton (@JimMFelton) July 22, 2021

Robinson was unsuccessful in his defence and has now lost and has been ordered to pay £100,000 in damages.

“I want to use this money to set up a charity to help young people of any race who go through problems at school or anywhere,” Hijazi told i.

“Not just bullying, but racism or any other problems that young people experience.

“I have been through a lot and I want other young people to have the support that I had and I want to help people.”

Jamal’s lawyer Tasnime Akunjee also commented on the case, saying it was disgusting that anyone with a platform like Robinson’s “thought it was in any way appropriate to add to the burden of a child who had been seriously bullied.”

Jamal Hijazi v Steven Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) score 1 – Nil pic.twitter.com/h5h4k9QFDr

— Akunjee 🖋 (@mohammedakunjee) July 27, 2021

“This outcome shows there are limits to what society will tolerate and that when someone crosses the line, there will be support for the victim and that those responsible will be held to account,” he said.

“For Jamal and his family, it is a great relief that the horrific lies which were told about Jamal have been resoundingly put to bed and his name has been cleared.”