Tuesday, October 29, 2019

UK: Man who went to Iraq to fight against the Islamic State is convicted on terror charge

OCT 28, 2019 1:00 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER16 COMMENTS

How low will the British government go in its shameless Islamopandering, its pollyannish pretense that Islamic jihad violence and Sharia oppression do not exist, its endless courting of the Muslim vote? There seems to be no bottom limit.

“British Army reject who fought against IS guilty of terror charge,” Sky News, October 24, 2019:

A British Army reject who trained to fight against Islamic State has been found guilty of terror offences, in the first conviction of its kind in the country.

Aidan James, 28, was found guilty of training in weapons with the banned group the PKK in Iraq following an Old Bailey retrial.

It is the first time a Briton has been put on trial for going to Syria to oppose Islamic State.

James, from Formby in Merseyside, had no previous military knowledge when he allegedly set out to join the conflict in August 2017, and was repeatedly turned down by British armed forces due to his mental health.

He was cleared of a second charge of attending a place of terror training with Kurdish YPG units, otherwise known as People’s Protection Units, in Syria.

The court heard how James was in contact with the anti-terror Prevent programme before he fled to Iraq in August 2017.

The father-of-one reportedly said he wanted to help the “PKK YPG” in their battle against Isis.

He was arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts after broadcasting his intentions on Facebook.

In his interview, James claimed he was going to Syria to help with “humanitarian aid”, dismissing the suggestion he was going for terrorism as “ridiculous”….

James also told the court how he was turned down by the Army, RAF, Navy and Territorial Army due to his mental health….

In December 2017, he wrote: “The situation with Turkey continues to worsen… the war is long from over but I am playing my part in this war and feel good to be a part of history and with the revolutionary force of YPG.

“Daesh (IS) is the biggest threat the world has seen since Hitler so anything I can do in these operations is good.”

In another handwritten entry, James said he was “waiting for Daesh to give me the opertunity (sic) to fire”.

He described his group’s “quest to vanquish Daesh from this place and send the rechid (sic) souls straight to hell”….