ISTANBUL: A British citizen was arrested by Turkish authorities on charges of links to a Kurdish militia Ankara deems to be a terror group, after detaining him in a raid at a holiday resort, state media said.
The man, named as Joseph AR, was detained in the Aegean holiday resort town of Didim in Aydin province and then remanded in custody by a court ahead of a trial, the state-run news agency said late Friday. A Bulgarian citizen was detained with him but she was later allowed by the court to go free under judicial control. Her mother was also detained but freed without charge.
According to media reports, AR 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. 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.
But Washington considers the YPG as the main fighting force on the ground in Syria against the Islamic State group. The United States is now openly arming the YPG and the group is heavily involved in the US-backed operation to oust IS militants from their stronghold of Raqa.
