Ex-soldier arrested on Turkish holiday
JON MACPHERSON
AFORMER soldier from Accrington who went to Syria to fight against the Islamic State terror group has been arrested in Turkey.
Joe Robinson, 23, was detained along with his girlfriend and her mother while the trio were on holiday in the resort of Didim, on the Aegean coast.
It has been reported the two women have since been released, but Mr Robinson, from Accrington, remains in custody.
It is believed he stands accused of sharing photographs of himself wearing a YPG uniform and other material relating to the Kurdish militia – which were seen by Turkish authorities on Facebook.
The Observer reported in November 2015 how Mr Robinson, who previously served with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment and completed tours of Afghanistan, fought alongside the People’s Protection Units of Syrian Kurdistan (YPG) against terror group IS.
But Turkey is hostile to the YPG because of links with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which is fighting for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey,
The Kurdistan Solidarity Campaign said: “Unfortunately, Joe has gone on holiday to Turkey not realising the kind of state it has now become.
“Turkey unfortunately continues to criminalise the Kurdish question and has jailed tens of thousands of Kurdish people, including elected MPs and mayors simply for peacefully campaigning for Kurdish rights.”
A Foreign Office spokes- woman said: “We are aware of the detention of a British national in Turkey and have requested consular access.” Joe’s girl- friend Mira Rojkan, who has since been released, said police swooped as the three relaxed on the beach, confiscating their mobile phones, computers and other digital material before taking them away for interrogation.
Rojkan told The Guard- ian: “It was just awful. They said someone had sent them an email saying we were terrorists about to do something in Turkey. 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.”
Mr Robinson, who described himself on social media as a former cage fighter and ‘special forces soldier’, flew to Turkey in the summer of 2015 and was embedded with the Turkish forces.
He posted pictures on Facebook of him posing with guns alongside soldiers.
When he returned to the UK he was arrested at Manchester Airport by North West Counter Terrorism Unit on suspicion of terrorism offences but no charges were later brought.