UK court rejects woman's appeal against PKK conviction

LONDON (AA) – A U.K. appeals court in London has refused an application to overturn the conviction of a Kurdish woman, who has been jailed for joining the PKK terror group.

Silhan Ozcelik became the first person in Britain to be convicted of PKK-related terrorism last year after she ran away from her family in an attempt to join the organization.

Ozcelik was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment in October 2015. The judge at the time told her she had been “stupid, feckless and deeply dishonest”.

She took her case to the Court of Appeals in London, arguing there was no evidence she had joined the PKK or attempted to do so, and that her sentence was too long given her previous good character and youth.

But on Tuesday the appeals judges threw out her case, describing it as “without merit” because the jury had been sure of her intention to commit acts of terrorism.

During her trial, Ozcelik, a British citizen whose family have Kurdish roots, claimed she left her London home in October 2014 to pursue a boyfriend in Brussels. She was 17 at the time.

But she left behind letters and a 25-minute video message in her bedroom telling her family she was going to join the PKK.

She is believed to be the first British resident to be convicted of ties to the PKK.