Turkey hails UK arresting father of YPG/PKK terrorist

ANKARA

Turkey on Sunday praised British judicial authorities for the recent arrest of the father of an accused YPG/PKK terrorist on charges of bankrolling terrorism.

Hami Aksoy, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Turkey welcomed the arrest of Paul Newey as well as the reasoning behind the arrest.

Calling the case important for designating the YPG as the Syrian offshoot of the terrorist group PKK, Aksoy said Ankara expects this case to set an example for all foreign terrorists operating under the terrorist YPG/PKK banner and those funding terrorism.

The EU and Western countries have recognized the PKK as a terrorist group, but have resisted doing the same for the YPG/PKK, despite ample evidence Turkey has provided that they are essentially the same group.

Newey, 49, was approached by British police on Dec. 11 at his home. His apartment was searched by police, and authorities confiscated laptops and cellphones. After being held for four days, he was granted bail.

Providing “material support” to terrorism -- funding and support -- has been used by authorities in previous years to target British families of Daesh/ISIS terror members.

British local media say this is the first time a British family member has been investigated for a relative joining the YPG terror group.

If Newey is found guilty of financing terrorism, he may serve a maximum sentence of 14 years in jail under Britain's Terrorism Act.

In 2017 Dan Newey, Paul Newey's eldest son, travelled from the U.K. to Syria to join the YPG/PKK terror group. He returned to Britain in March 2018, where he was investigated by police and placed on a watchlist but faced no charges.

He returned to Syria this October, following the launch of Turkey's Operation Peace Spring, an anti-terrorist operation in northeastern Syria.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is its Syrian offshoot.