Russell Brand's team share petition calling for 'justice' on his X account following his imprisonment for rape - hours after Meta deleted his Instagram and Facebook profiles

Russell Brand's team have shared a petition calling for 'justice' on his X account - just hours after his Facebook and Instagram accounts had been shut down.The disgraced comedian, 51, was jailed for 10 years and six months in prison on Monday for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others.Posting to Brand's account on X, owned by Elon Musk, his team confirmed that Meta has closed his Instagram and Facebook accounts, where he had millions of followers.Reacting to the closure of the accounts, Brand's X account said: 'There never was a Russell Brand, according to @meta. Thank God for @elonmusk. Stay tuned.' Brand's team have also shared a petition titled 'Free Russell Brand', in which an 'independent community of supporters from around the world' are 'calling for his right to challenge his convictions through lawful appeal procedures'.The petition reads: 'We recognise the seriousness of the offences and the rights and dignity of everyone involved. But we also believe that the right to appeal is a fundamental safeguard of justice.'Described as an 'independent supporter-led campaign' and one not affiliated with Brand or his legal team, the petition has reached 5,000 signatures at the time of writing. It continues: 'This campaign is about more than one individual. It is about the principles we believe should protect everyone. Russell Brand's team have shared a petition calling for 'justice' on his X account. The disgraced comedian, 51, was jailed for 10 years and six months in prison on Monday for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others. Pictured: Brand outside Southwark Crown Court on October 14'A fair justice system must allow convictions to be challenged through established legal procedures.'We do not call for harassment, intimidation or interference with witnesses or court proceedings. We call for peaceful advocacy, informed discussion and respect for the law.'Brand's team have also posted screenshots of messages from Meta following the deactivation of his Instagram and Facebook accounts.The message read: 'Your account, or activity on it, doesn't follow our Community Standards.'What this means: No one can see or find your account and you can't use it. All your information will be permanently deleted.'You cannot request another review of this decision.'An additional screenshot features another message from Meta that reads: 'How we made this decision. Our technology found your account, or activity on it, doesn't follow our rules.'As a result, a member of our team took action. We use the same rules around the world, and for everyone on Instagram.'With Brand currently behind bars at HMP Wandsworth, it is unclear who posted the message from Brand's X account. A spokesperson for Meta told the Daily Mail: 'Russell Brand’s accounts have been disabled in line with our Community Standards.'Brand began his career as a TV presenter and comedian and later became a Hollywood star, appearing in films such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Hop and the Despicable Me franchise.Over his two-decade career, he also cemented his status in the spotlight through his marriage to singer Katy Perry, and his subsequent appearances on TV, radio, stage and podcasts.He is expected to serve two-thirds of his prison sentence before being released on licence, and will be on the sex offenders' register for life.Sarah Sackman KC, the courts and legal services minister, has since called for his conviction to serve as a catalyst for eliminating myths from the justice process.'The events of this week in the Russell Brand trial represent a watershed moment, where we should be looking to transform the culture in our courts,' she said.'We don't want our courts to become sites of retraumatisation, where the complainant and victims feel like they're the ones that are being put on trial.'In his closing speech, Brand's defence barrister Ian Winter KC argued the comedian was not a rapist because his accusers had not 'resisted or screamed or even tried to leave'.He also argued that Brand leaving his phone number and email address behind pointed to him being not guilty.Brand was convicted of raping a 21-year-old fan he picked out of the crowd after one of his Hammersmith Apollo gigs in 2009.Brand outside Southwark Crown Court on November 5 with his wife Laura Gallacher, on the day he was found guilty of his crimesWe speak to the detective who brought down Russell BrandHi, I'm Alex Matthews, Editor of The Crime Desk.Russell Brand has been found guilty of rape and three sexual assaults - and our reporters Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull were in court every day to witness it all. They sat down with Detective Inspector Laura Nelson who revealed why the women who accused him in the infamous documentary were not involved in his rape trial. Subscribe to The Crime Desk to listen to the podcast. Overawed by Brand's fame, the woman agreed to go to the star's £2.3million Hampstead mansion a few days later for sex.But she said the encounter started with Brand unnervingly forcing her to strip, shower and brush her teeth before they went to bed together.Brand, then 33, pushed the woman face down into a pillow on his 'enormous' bed and removed his condom while raping her, leaving her struggling to breathe.She was left bleeding and afterwards said Brand ordered her to 'clean up the mess you've made', before switching on the TV to watch the sci-fi series Quantum Leap.During the trial, Riel Karmy-Jones, prosecuting, said women were a 'disposable commodity' to the comedian, whom she dubbed 'a sexual predator'.'They didn't matter to him. He didn't even need to know their names. They were just a means to an end.'The woman recounted that she later told Brand: 'You treated me like an animal,' and that he replied: 'I'm sorry.'Brand's victims told the court how he forced them into sexual activity, sometimes within seconds of first meeting them, while exploiting his fame in pursuit of a goal of sleeping with 5,000 women.After an explosive four-week trial, and eight-and-a-half hours of deliberations, Brand was convicted of the 2009 rapes as well as a sexual assault of an MTV worker at a party in Soho. But he was cleared of orally raping her in a toilet afterwards.The born-again Christian, who said he wore the 'full armour of God' in court, was also found guilty of sexually assaulting a Capital Radio worker after encountering her in a corridor in 2005.He was further convicted for sexually assaulting a Channel 4 employee during a forced massage in 2009. He was cleared of two charges of rape and one of attempted indecent assault.Brand now also faces fresh accusations of raping two more women, including a 16-year-old schoolgirl. The Crown Prosecution Service are seeking to bring further charges.The entertainment industry also faces several questions after Brand boasted that his BBC boss, Lesley Douglas, was 'incredibly tolerant' of his inappropriate sexual behaviour while he was a star presenter, as well as Channel 4 bosses who turned a blind eye.READ MORE: 'I hope more victims come forward': Katie Price weighs in on Russell Brand conviction READ MORE: Kate Garraway is criticised for defending 'brave' Jonathan Ross in heated GMB row READ MORE: Inside story of the day Russell Brand was hired a £500 'full-figured' masseuse by Jemima Goldsmith