ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A former British soldier has been arrested in Turkey for fighting alongside the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria.
Joe Robinson, 24, a British national from Lancashire was arrested along with his girlfriend and her mother while on holiday in Didim on the Aegean coast of southeast Turkey for previously working with the YPG as well as “pro-Kurdish propaganda” as reported by The Guardian on Friday.
“Unfortunately, Joe has gone on holiday to Turkey not realizing the kind of state it has now become,” Mark Campbell, co-chair of the Kurdish Solidarity Campaign and Kurdish rights campaigner, told The Guardian.
“Turkey continues to criminalize the Kurdish question and has jailed tens of thousands of Kurdish people, including elected MPs and mayors, simply for peacefully campaigning for Kurdish rights,” Campbell added.
The foreign office in London has been notified and stated, “We are aware of the detention of a British national in Turkey and have requested consular access.”
Robinson’s girlfriend, Mira Rojkan, a Bulgarian law student at the University of Leeds in the UK, stated that the three were relaxing on the beach in Didim when suddenly Turkish police appeared and started confiscating their mobile phones and other electronic devices before taking them away to be interrogated.
“It was just awful. They said someone had sent them an email saying we were terrorists about to do something in Turkey,” Rojkan stated in a text message to The Guardian. “They wouldn’t say who it was from. It is absolute nonsense. They arrested us on the beach while we were vacationing with my mother.”
Rojkan had previously done volunteer work with human rights group, Amnesty International (AI), and Turkish officials questioned her on whether or not she had links to any subversive groups.
Amnesty’s Country Director, Ibid Eser, was arrested by Turkish officials on July 5 and still remains in detention along with several other human rights workers.
After being questioned at the local police station, Rojkan and her mother were released, but the Turkish authorities have accused Robinson of “being a member of a terrorist organization,” Robinson’s girlfriend said.
Robinson had shared photographs of himself on social media wearing a YPG uniform and other material related to the Kurdish group.
Turkey’s state run media Anadolu Agency reported he was arrested after posting the photographs.
Turkey considers the YPG as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which has waged an armed struggle against the Turkish state since the 1980s. The YPG denies it has any links with the PKK, a named terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and EU.
Robinson, who also toured Afghanistan in 2012, traveled to Syria two years ago, saying he was deeply affected by ISIS atrocities and because he believed that the UK was not doing enough to help the Syrian people.
The tipping point was an attack by ISIS in Tunisia which killed 39 British tourists in June 2015. Robinson left for Syria the day following the incident.
He served alongside the YPG as a combat medic during the fight against ISIS militants during one of the civil war’s bloodiest periods.
When Robinson returned to the UK from Syria, he was immediately arrested on suspicion of terrorism offenses. He spent 10 months on bail before the charges were dropped.
Robinson was previously interviewed by The Guardian in September 2016 after being found innocent of links to a terror organization.
“I went to Syria to fight against terrorism and to protect the civilians caught up in the fighting who have had to endure the most horrendous experiences and living conditions imaginable,” Robinson said in the interview.
“I love my country, I am ex-military and served my country in the Afghanistan conflict, but to be accused of terrorism by the same country I fought for simply trying to help those in need has been extremely harrowing and made me think twice about the morals of the government in the UK,” he added.
A Turkish defense official said, “The YPG is the PKK by another name and the PKK is considered a terrorist organization not just by us but the UK as well. Of course anyone fighting with a terrorist organization will be investigated and there is a strong possibility of charges and a long sentence if he is found guilty,” ARA News agency in Syria reported.
The YPG is a key ally of the United States fighting ISIS on the ground in northern Syria. American officials have repeatedly said they consider the YPG and the PKK to be distinct organizations, despite Turkey’s protestations.
Joe Robinson, 24, a British national from Lancashire was arrested along with his girlfriend and her mother while on holiday in Didim on the Aegean coast of southeast Turkey for previously working with the YPG as well as “pro-Kurdish propaganda” as reported by The Guardian on Friday.
“Unfortunately, Joe has gone on holiday to Turkey not realizing the kind of state it has now become,” Mark Campbell, co-chair of the Kurdish Solidarity Campaign and Kurdish rights campaigner, told The Guardian.
“Turkey continues to criminalize the Kurdish question and has jailed tens of thousands of Kurdish people, including elected MPs and mayors, simply for peacefully campaigning for Kurdish rights,” Campbell added.
The foreign office in London has been notified and stated, “We are aware of the detention of a British national in Turkey and have requested consular access.”
Robinson’s girlfriend, Mira Rojkan, a Bulgarian law student at the University of Leeds in the UK, stated that the three were relaxing on the beach in Didim when suddenly Turkish police appeared and started confiscating their mobile phones and other electronic devices before taking them away to be interrogated.
“It was just awful. They said someone had sent them an email saying we were terrorists about to do something in Turkey,” Rojkan stated in a text message to The Guardian. “They wouldn’t say who it was from. It is absolute nonsense. They arrested us on the beach while we were vacationing with my mother.”
Rojkan had previously done volunteer work with human rights group, Amnesty International (AI), and Turkish officials questioned her on whether or not she had links to any subversive groups.
Amnesty’s Country Director, Ibid Eser, was arrested by Turkish officials on July 5 and still remains in detention along with several other human rights workers.
After being questioned at the local police station, Rojkan and her mother were released, but the Turkish authorities have accused Robinson of “being a member of a terrorist organization,” Robinson’s girlfriend said.
Robinson had shared photographs of himself on social media wearing a YPG uniform and other material related to the Kurdish group.
Turkey’s state run media Anadolu Agency reported he was arrested after posting the photographs.
Turkey considers the YPG as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which has waged an armed struggle against the Turkish state since the 1980s. The YPG denies it has any links with the PKK, a named terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and EU.
Robinson, who also toured Afghanistan in 2012, traveled to Syria two years ago, saying he was deeply affected by ISIS atrocities and because he believed that the UK was not doing enough to help the Syrian people.
The tipping point was an attack by ISIS in Tunisia which killed 39 British tourists in June 2015. Robinson left for Syria the day following the incident.
He served alongside the YPG as a combat medic during the fight against ISIS militants during one of the civil war’s bloodiest periods.
When Robinson returned to the UK from Syria, he was immediately arrested on suspicion of terrorism offenses. He spent 10 months on bail before the charges were dropped.
Robinson was previously interviewed by The Guardian in September 2016 after being found innocent of links to a terror organization.
“I went to Syria to fight against terrorism and to protect the civilians caught up in the fighting who have had to endure the most horrendous experiences and living conditions imaginable,” Robinson said in the interview.
“I love my country, I am ex-military and served my country in the Afghanistan conflict, but to be accused of terrorism by the same country I fought for simply trying to help those in need has been extremely harrowing and made me think twice about the morals of the government in the UK,” he added.
A Turkish defense official said, “The YPG is the PKK by another name and the PKK is considered a terrorist organization not just by us but the UK as well. Of course anyone fighting with a terrorist organization will be investigated and there is a strong possibility of charges and a long sentence if he is found guilty,” ARA News agency in Syria reported.
The YPG is a key ally of the United States fighting ISIS on the ground in northern Syria. American officials have repeatedly said they consider the YPG and the PKK to be distinct organizations, despite Turkey’s protestations.
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