Why is this British man who fought against ISIS locked up on a terror charge?
...when this one who fought for ISIS roams free
A BRITON facing years behind bars for travelling to Syria to fight against ISIS was assured by police that he wouldn’t be prosecuted if he came home.
It is understood that lawyers acting for Aidan James, 27, will this week argue at the Old Bailey that two terrorism charges should be thrown out because he had a ‘legitimate expectation’ that he would not be pursued by the authorities.
Friends of Mr James claim that when he decided to leave Syria last year, he received emails from anti- t errorist officers assuring him that ‘ nobody is going to accuse you of being a terrorist’ and pointing out that others who, like him, had fought with the Kurdish YPG against ISIS, had not faced charges when they returned to the UK.
Despite that, he was arrested on his return in February and charged with attending a terrorist training camp and preparing acts of terrorism. He is on remand at the high-security Belmarsh jail in South East London and faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
The experience of Mr James, who has a history of mental illness, is in stark contrast to that of many ISIS jihadis who have fled back to Britain. They include Gianluca Tomaselli, who allegedly travelled to Syria in 2013 to become an ISIS fighter, yet was not prosecuted and secured a job as a parking attendant at a London hospital.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid has admitted that just one in ten of those who o had returned to Britain after fighting with ISIS had been prosecuted.
Lawyers acting for Mr James, who i s f rom Merseyside, are expected to argue that the YPG has been trained and supplied with weapons by western countries, including Britain.
They will also point out the Foreign Office has stated the Kurdish force has ‘made an important contribution to counter Daesh [ISIS] efforts’ and that as Prime Minister, David Cameron said there was a ‘fundamental difference’ between fighting for the Kurds and for ISIS.
Macer Gifford, a former City of London finance worker who fought with the YPG for three years, said he met Mr James in Syria last year.
‘I have seen British and American special forces working with the YPG and if you look at the Kurds’ weap- onry, it has been provided by the Western coalition,’ he said. ‘They are Britain’s trusted and valued allies. Like me, he was motivated to fight against ISIS because he hates everything they stand for.’
To date, only one person who fought alongside the Kurds has been charged, but the prosecution dropped the case against James Matthews in July.
Before heading to Syria, Mr James
‘He hates everything that ISIS stands for’
had been a mental health in-patient after suffering hallucinations and post-traumatic stress. He had also made suicide attempts.
His passport was originally taken away by anti-terror police, who advised him not to travel to Syria. However, after obtaining a new one, he flew from Manchester to Heathrow on August 30 last year, then to Jordan, before travelling to a training camp in Iraq. He went to Syria on November 4. He left the YPG after his mental health began to deteriorate.
It is believed the prosecution will argue the YPG has links to the PKK, an organisation fighting for more autonomy for the Kurds but which the Turkish government considers a terrorist group.
It is understood the defence will argue that the case against Mr James, whose trial is scheduled for November, is politically motivated because Britain is keen to foster good relations with the Turks.
The Crown Prosecution Service declined to comment.