British ex-soldier arrested in Turkey and accused of fighting alongside Kurdish rebels

Joseph Robinson - Joseph Robinson/Facebook
Joseph Robinson - Joseph Robinson/Facebook

A British ex-soldier has been arrested by Turkish authorities for suspected terrorism offences while holidaying on the country's western coast.

The man, named locally as ‘Joseph A.R.’, was detained in the Aegean holiday resort town of Didim, in Aydin province, on Friday, on charges of working with a Kurdish militia Ankara classified as a terror group, state media said.

Joseph Robinson - Credit: Joseph Robinson/Facebook
Joseph Robinson Credit: Joseph Robinson/Facebook

A Bulgarian citizen detained was allowed by the court to go free under judicial control.

The man was identified as ex-soldier Joe Robinson, 24, from Leeds,  and the Bulgarian as his fiancee Mira Rojkan, by the BBC.

Her mother, who was also detained, was later freed without charge.

Robinson was arrested after posting pictures on social media allegedly showing himself in camouflage gear taking part in Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) operations in Syria, according to the government-backed Anadolu agency.

Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels - Credit: David Furst/AFP/Getty Images
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels taking positions as they storm a hilltop during military exercises in the mountains of northern Iraq's Kurdish autonomous region. Credit: David Furst/AFP/Getty Images

Ankara considers the YPG a terrorist group and the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency inside Turkey since 1984.

However, the United States government regards the YPG  - the main fighting force on the ground in Syria against the Islamic State group -  as a key ally.

The US is now openly arming the YPG and the group is heavily involved in the US-backed operation to remove IS jihadists from their stronghold of Raqa.

Joseph Robinson - Credit: Joseph Robinson/Facebook
Joseph Robinson Credit: Joseph Robinson/Facebook

The YPG has also attracted the services of foreigners - many with no Kurdish family origin - to fight against IS in Syria and Iraq. Several have lost their lives.

According to the Hurriyet daily, the Briton said in his statement to police investigators that he spent three months in Syria providing medical assistance to the YPG.

PKK - Credit: Alexander Pohl/Pacific/Barcroft
Activists showing PKK-flags during a G20 peaceful protest on July 08, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. Credit: Alexander Pohl/Pacific/Barcroft

He said was trained on the use of weapons by the YPG but never took part in any clashes, Hurriyet reported.

Robinson had previously described his experiences with the YPG in media interviews with the British Press.

Anadolu said that Turkish police launched the raid to arrest him after receiving a tip-off by email.

PKK - Credit: PA
Silhan Ozcelik, 18, who became the first Briton to be convicted of trying to join the banned Kurdish group PKK. The teenager was on trial at the Old Bailey in 2015, charged with engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts Credit: PA

"They arrested us on the beach while we were vacationing with my mother," Rojkan told the Guardian in a message.

Robinson served with British forces in Afghanistan in 2012 and traveled to Syria in 2015 to work as as a combat medic in the YPG, the newspaper said.

He was arrested on suspicion of terror offences after arriving back in Britain but the charges were dropped after 10 months.