Family’s plea to May over ex-soldier held in Turkey

The family of a former British soldier imprisoned in Turkey after fighting with Kurdish forces against Isil has appealed to Theresa May to help secure his release.

Joe Robinson, a 24-year-old from Accrington, Lancashire, was arrested in Turkey last month and has now been charged with membership of a terrorist organisation, a crime that can carry up to 16 years in prison.

He served for one month as a medic with the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish group considered terrorists by Turkey but not by Britain.

The family’s letter to Mrs May says: “We cannot let a young man, who did the right thing, go to prison.”