According to Mirror News A "feckless" teenage girl has become the first Briton to be convicted
of trying to join the banned Kurdish group PKK - which is leading the
fight against the brutal terror thugs ISIS.
Silhan Ozcelik, 18, was on trial at the Old Bailey charged with engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts.
The
court heard she left Britain on the Eurostar in October 2014 and was
arrested in January after getting off a flight from Germany at Stansted
airport.
She left letters and a video for her family telling them
she had gone off to try to fight with the Kurdistan Workers Party, the
court heard.
But in her defence, she claimed that was a lie and
she actually went to see a man she had formed a romantic attachment to
in Brussels.
The jury deliberated for less than a day to find her guilty and she was sentenced to 21 months in prison by Judge John Bevan QC.
She has already spent eight months in custody on remand which will count as time served.
The
judge rejected a plea for a suspended sentence, and told her: "You are a
stupid, feckless and deeply dishonest young woman. You have lied to
your family and this jury."
The trial had heard that the
defendant travelled to Brussels on a one-way Eurostar ticket four months
after dropping out of college.
She left behind a letter for her family, informing them she had
joined the ranks of the PKK - a proscribed terrorist organisation under
UK law.
In it, she wrote: "Believe me this is the right thing for me to do. I am so happy right now that I have become a militant."
In
a 25-minute video in Turkish, she told her family: "My fight, my
struggle is not just for the Kurdish people, it is for all people, for
all women.
"It must not be misconstrued. This is not a Kurdistan matter. Even if Kurdistan is established today I will not return."
Soon
after her disappearance, her 27-year-old brother Engin told police he
had noticed his sister had begun to take more care of her appearance -
wearing make-up, styling her hair and watching her diet.
The defendant also followed events in Kobani, in Syria, during Islamic State massacres.
She
said: "The only people defending them over there was the YPG, the PKK.
It was amazing, the fact that they were there and they were trying to
protect innocent people - I just admired it."
She told the court she felt "cool" recording the video on her laptop with the aid of notes, but it seemed funny later.
Asked
if she regretted it now, Ozcelik, of Highbury Quadrant, Holloway in
north London, replied: "Yeah I regret everything - it's caused trouble
for my family and everyone else."
Afterwards, Commander Richard
Walton, head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command (SO15), said: "We
continue to remain concerned about the number of young women and girls
being drawn into all forms of terrorism.
"We urge parents and
families to talk to us at the earliest opportunity if they have concerns
about any girl or women being enticed into supporting terrorist groups
like the PKK or Isil."
No comments:
Post a Comment