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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Man who joined Kurdish militia to fight Isis in Syria arrested in UK | Man who joined Kurdish militia to fight Isis in Syria arrested in UK |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| A former care worker from Nottinghamshire who joined the fight against Islamic State in Syria has been arrested upon his return to the UK. | A former care worker from Nottinghamshire who joined the fight against Islamic State in Syria has been arrested upon his return to the UK. |
| Aiden Aslin, 23, was being questioned under the Terrorism Act, after being arrested on suspicion of engaging “in the preparation to fight against Daesh” and possessing “articles for terrorist purposes in Iraq/Syria”, Nottinghamshire police said, using the derogatory Arabic term for Isis. | Aiden Aslin, 23, was being questioned under the Terrorism Act, after being arrested on suspicion of engaging “in the preparation to fight against Daesh” and possessing “articles for terrorist purposes in Iraq/Syria”, Nottinghamshire police said, using the derogatory Arabic term for Isis. |
| It is understood he was arrested at Manchester airport at 2am on Monday as he returned to the UK after three months teaching English at a Kurdish refugee camp in Greece. Aslin, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, had previously said he went to Greece from Syria because he was reluctant to return to the UK for fear he would be arrested. | It is understood he was arrested at Manchester airport at 2am on Monday as he returned to the UK after three months teaching English at a Kurdish refugee camp in Greece. Aslin, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, had previously said he went to Greece from Syria because he was reluctant to return to the UK for fear he would be arrested. |
| It is understood he travelled to Syria twice in 2015 and 2016, both times to join the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the US-backed militia spearheading the fight against Isis in Syria. After returning for the first time he was arrested and placed on bail before all charges were dropped last October. | It is understood he travelled to Syria twice in 2015 and 2016, both times to join the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the US-backed militia spearheading the fight against Isis in Syria. After returning for the first time he was arrested and placed on bail before all charges were dropped last October. |
| After bail was lifted, Aslin called for “a coherent national policy so that people know what they are coming back to”. He told the Newark Advertiser: “No fighter should have to go through what I went through if it can be avoided. I feel vindicated. I have had nine months of being made to feel like a terrorist. I should never have been arrested. I should never have spent any time on bail. I should have been interviewed for any intelligence I might hold on Isis and allowed to go free.” | After bail was lifted, Aslin called for “a coherent national policy so that people know what they are coming back to”. He told the Newark Advertiser: “No fighter should have to go through what I went through if it can be avoided. I feel vindicated. I have had nine months of being made to feel like a terrorist. I should never have been arrested. I should never have spent any time on bail. I should have been interviewed for any intelligence I might hold on Isis and allowed to go free.” |
| His grandmother Pam Hall told the BBC he travelled to Syria not to aid terrorism, but for humanitarian reasons, saying: “I am disappointed that he is being treated like this again. I know he went to Syria against the advice of the government, but he went for humanitarian reasons and has not committed any crimes.” | His grandmother Pam Hall told the BBC he travelled to Syria not to aid terrorism, but for humanitarian reasons, saying: “I am disappointed that he is being treated like this again. I know he went to Syria against the advice of the government, but he went for humanitarian reasons and has not committed any crimes.” |
| A police spokesperson said: “A man has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences. The 23-year-old was arrested following claims he had allegedly engaged in the preparation to fight against Daesh and possessed articles for terrorist purposes in Iraq/Syria. He will be interviewed by specialist officers later [on Monday].” | A police spokesperson said: “A man has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences. The 23-year-old was arrested following claims he had allegedly engaged in the preparation to fight against Daesh and possessed articles for terrorist purposes in Iraq/Syria. He will be interviewed by specialist officers later [on Monday].” |
| Aslin is among dozens of British citizens who have travelled to Syria to join the YPG, which is not a proscribed terror group in the UK. None have been convicted of any crime relating to the militia group’s membership to date. | Aslin is among dozens of British citizens who have travelled to Syria to join the YPG, which is not a proscribed terror group in the UK. None have been convicted of any crime relating to the militia group’s membership to date. |
| So far, four British fighters have been killed, most recently Luke Rutter, 22, from Birkenhead, who died during an ambush in a suburb of the Isis stronghold of Raqqa on 5 July this year. | So far, four British fighters have been killed, most recently Luke Rutter, 22, from Birkenhead, who died during an ambush in a suburb of the Isis stronghold of Raqqa on 5 July this year. |
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