Tommy Robinson was released from Belmarsh Prison on Friday morning, after spending nine weeks locked up for contempt of court.

Photos posted on social media show Tommy Robinson sporting a scraggly ginger beard after being locked up for over 2 months at Belmarsh Prison in London. “I look like a little cowardly convert,” Robinson said. “Salaam alaikum!”

He told Ezra Levant of Rebel Media that he has “enjoyed reading and hearing” from supporters during his time in prison, and remained defiant against the accusations of contempt of court, which he was found guilty of:

This is an embarrassment to the British government… and judiciary. In the judge’s words… it was unintentional. So something that was unintentional and had zero effect on the trial, would result in a man, a journalist, being put in prison, spending 2 and a half months in solitary confinement… I’ve walked into and out of Belmarsh Prison without seeing another prisoner.

He also confronted journalists from the British leftist tabloid, the Daily Mirror, who had turned up to photograph his release, and labelled them propaganda:

You’re a part of the propaganda being pushed out. My only message to them is you’re a disgrace and an embarrassment, if this happened in Hong Kong, Russia, China, you’d be up in arms but because I talk about Islam you’re silent. You are all complicit in the attack on free speech that we are witnessing. You’re all complicit in what’s happening to our country, all the media are.

Robinson’s imprisonment is the result of an incident from 2018, where he took filmed and broadcasted footage of alleged Muslim child rapists arriving at court. He was arrested and thrown in jail almost immediately, even before those he recorded had their time in court. The judge even imposed reporting restrictions, ensuring the British public could not hear the full story of his arrest. It was argued he had jeopardised the case by showing their faces and therefore deserved prison.

Despite his lawyers arguing on appeal that the punishment was excessive, as usually only fines are issued, a judge sent him back to jail anyway. The gang he reported on were subsequently jailed for raping girls as young as 11.