It used to be a great country. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. There was a time when British officials didn’t persecute their own people so as to appease Muslim groups. But those days are long gone.
“British volunteers who fought against Isis ‘harassed by security services’ for years,” by Lizzie Dearden, Independent, November 17, 2019:
Volunteers who fought against Isis in Syria have accused British authorities of treating them like terrorists as part of a “hypocritical” campaign of harassment.
The Independent understands that at least one person has left the UK because of alleged interference by the security services.
Dozens of Brits joined the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) from 2014 onwards, as they were supported by a US-led military coalition to push Isis out of its self-declared caliphate.
Eight British volunteers with the group – seven men and one woman – were killed in Syria.
The vast majority of those who survived the fighting have returned to Britain but found themselves repeatedly stopped and questioned, and in some cases arrested for terror offences.
After several failed attempts to prosecute people who fought for the YPG, Aidan James became the first volunteer to be convicted this month.
The 28-year-old was jailed for a year for attending a training camp operated by the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Iraq, although he did not fight for the group.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) initially charged him with preparing acts of terrorism by travelling to Syria to join the YPG but a judge found that he had “no case to answer”.
Mr Justice Edis noted the Kurdish group was “supporting the policy of the UK and other allies by fighting Isis” and was backed by RAF airstrikes.
The judge told the Old Bailey that fighting alongside the YPG “was not terrorism at all” under current laws.
His remarks sparked fresh allegations of hypocrisy against security services, who have continued to arrest and monitor returning volunteers….