PKK/YPG member appears in British court

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - A British man who joined PYD/PKK, a terror group Turkey is fighting in Syria, appeared in court on Wednesday.

Former soldier Jim Matthews appeared in front of the Westminster's Magistrates Court after being accused of terror-related offenses.

The court withheld Matthews' passport and ordered him to stay at his current address till the next hearing.

The session was adjourned till March 1.

During the hearing, PYD/PKK sympathizers abused Turkish journalists. A female TRT World correspondent was targeted in the courtroom. However, the court and the security failed to stop the abuse.

A brief protest was also held outside the courthouse by PKK sympathizers.

Mark Campbell, a British man, a PKK sympathizer known for his anti-Turkey activities joined the abusers.

London-based think tank Henry Jackson Society published a report last August titled “The Forgotten Fighters: The PKK in Syria”.

The report profiled 60 foreign fighters from 12 countries, saying that around 80 percent of them come from English-speaking countries.

The report warned that Britons who join the terrorist group could lead to a diplomatic crisis with Turkey, a NATO ally, urging British authorities to distance themselves from the group.

The report also recommended that the YPG -- the PYD’s armed wing -- should be added to U.K.'s list of alternate names of the banned PKK, so the anti-terror law could be applied to activities under this name.

Although the U.K. has listed the PKK as a terrorist organization since 2001, the PYD/PKK -- its Syrian off-shoot -- is not on the list.

In its 30-year terrorist campaign against Turkey, the PKK has taken some 40,000 lives, including those of women and children.