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Mother of 'Jihadi Jack' says he is in Syria for humanitarian work Mother of 'Jihadi Jack' says he is in Syria for humanitarian work
(about 1 hour later)
The mother of a young man known as “Jihadi Jack” following reports he was the first white Briton to join Islamic State has said it is ridiculous to suggest her son is a terrorist. The mother of a young man reported to be the first white Briton to join Islamic State has said it is ridiculous to suggest her son is a terrorist.
Sally Letts said her son Jack, 20, from Oxford, was not a member of the terrorist organisation and had gone to Syria to do humanitarian work.Sally Letts said her son Jack, 20, from Oxford, was not a member of the terrorist organisation and had gone to Syria to do humanitarian work.
Over the weekend it was reported that her son now used the name Ibrahim Abu Mohammed and was believed to be living in Raqqa, the de facto capital of Isis. She said she had spoken to him on Sunday and confirmed he had left for Syria in 2014. But she said the press had got it entirely wrong. In an interview with the Guardian, she confirmed that he had been in Raqqa, the headquarters of the self-styled Islamic State, but said newspaper reports that he had married, had had a son and was going by the name Ibrahim or Abu Mohammed were all false.
“We spoke to him yesterday and he said he had never had a weapon in his life. He went out there for humanitarian purposes to help kids in Syrian refugee camps. It is not as if he is hiding anything – he tells us what he has for breakfast. All this is absolutely ridiculous, it is shocking,” she told the Evening Standard. His father, John, an organic farmer, said newspapers “made up” the nickname Jihadi Jack because it suited their agenda. “It’s so ridiculous,” he said. “It was made up. Everything is alleged,” he added.
She said reports he was married may be true but reports that he had a son were not. “He is not a member of IS; he is very probably not the first white convert that has gone out there. He does not have a son and is not known as Abu Mohammed,” she said. “People hear what they want to hear. They can’t resist the alliteration of Jihadi John and Jihadi Jack,” he added, in reference to the Isis terrorist Mohammed Emwazi, who was killed in a drone attack last November.
Over the weekend it was reported that Letts was one of 750 Britons who have joined Isis, with the Mail Online reporting he his “a frontline fighter for the brutal terror group and lives with his Iraqi wife and his son Muhammed after moving to the Iraqi city of Fallujah from Raqqa”.
“We spoke to him yesterday and he said he had never had a weapon in his life,” said Sally.
“Jack never had a weapon, never posed in a photo with a weapon, but every article mentions it,” said his father. “I bought him those cargo trousers from a sports shop in Oxford,” he added in reference to the photo featured in the press over the past two days. “It’s all insinuation, [people] forcing connections that don’t exist.”
His mother said the family were worried sick about his welfare because he was in a war-torn country. “He is in danger every single moment of the day,” she said.His mother said the family were worried sick about his welfare because he was in a war-torn country. “He is in danger every single moment of the day,” she said.
“He is very naive, very misguided. He wanted to do good in the world and wanted to see for himself. The fact is he did not see the danger or think about his own safety. We wake every single morning not knowing whether he is alive or dead.”“He is very naive, very misguided. He wanted to do good in the world and wanted to see for himself. The fact is he did not see the danger or think about his own safety. We wake every single morning not knowing whether he is alive or dead.”
Letts, a former student of Cherwell School, Oxford, was said to have become interested in Islam following the Arab spring of 2011 and started attending the Madina mosque in central Oxford. “There is no evidence he’s been near a battle zone,” her husband said.
His father, Canadian-born John Letts, is a farmer known for his organic wheat. They said Letts, a former student of Cherwell School, Oxford, was attracted to Syria because he wanted to help innocent people and save lives.
Jack Letts been under investigation by police for the past year and his mother said the family house had been raided by anti-terror police repeatedly, with computers and a mobile phone seized. But the family said the police had no evidence he had done anything wrong. “For a year and a half he saw outrageous horrors of everyday life. He had a strong humanitarian conviction.”
Sally Letts said the family, who were “pretty well secular”, were not opposed to their son’s conversion. “He is entitled to choose his religion.” Asked if they thought their son was foolish given the fate of the British taxi driver Alan Henning, who was beheaded after going to Syria with aid, his father said his son was different because he “is integrated in day-to-day life with Syrian people”.
When he left Britain in 2014 he told his parents he was going to Kuwait to study Arabic, but he subsequently told them he had gone to Syria. “We were in utter shock. We have been trying to convince him to come back,” she said. They said they are in touch with their son once a month but do not know his precise whereabouts.
She said he was initially working with refugees in Syria, where millions have been displaced by the war, and most recently had been helping in a hospital. “We know he spent time in Raqqa, but we are not entirely sure where he is now. He said he had worked in a hospital. He is not a fighter,” said his mother. “People who are living in [Isis] territory doesn’t necessarily mean they are [Isis] fighters”
She said he categorically denied being a member of Isis when asked by the family. “He repeatedly said he is not with IS, and he does not lie. He believes it is un-Islamic to lie and if he does he will go straight to hell, so there is no doubt whatsoever. They said their son was so determined to help, so they discussed his options before he left.
“He has worked in a hospital, done some teaching, done some translating … he is integrated with the population.” “When he became Muslim I said if you’re going to help people, you’ll be a liability except if you speak the language – you’ll just be another mouth to feed – then you can help on refugee camps.
She said the press made up the moniker “Jihadi Jack” because it suited them, not because of any evidence. “There are civilians out there despite great risk to themselves and are just assumed to be terrorists. They [the media] have lost Jihadi John so Jihadi Jack fits perfectly.” “He dropped out of school and taught himself Arabic on his own because he wanted to be useful; said he wanted to help medical staff but had no medical skills,” Sally Letts said.
The imam of Madina mosque, Ahmed Qazi, told the Guardian that he did not remember Jack Letts. He said they had more than 1,000 worshippers and that the mosque “condemns Isis”. John Letts said he told his son his duty was to be the best Muslim he could be. “He wanted to do the right thing as a Muslim and said if he can prevent the death of another person it was saving the whole of humanity.”
The counter-terror command at the Metropolitan police said it did not comment on individual cases, but said it investigated everyone who returned to the UK to establish if crimes had been committed or whether a person was a threat to the UK. They confirmed that the family home had been raided by police twice and laptops and mobile phones confiscated, but said the police had “no evidence he had done anything wrong”.
John Letts said: “It’s like he’s walking on a train track with a blindfold, with a train [coming down the tracks]. Blindfolded in the sense he can’t see the danger ahead of him but determined to help people.”
When he left Britain in 2014, he told his parents he was going to Kuwait to study Arabic but later told them he had gone to Syria. “We were in utter shock. We have been trying to convince him to come back,” his mother said.
His father said they are terrified of what might happen now. “The allegations become fact and the facts become embellished and then the embellishments become completely exaggerated and out of context, to the extent he has now become a girl in some articles.”
“If the ramifications were not so serious, it could be a comedy.”