{UAH} Jihadi Jack's parents sent him money in Syria knowing it could fund terrorism, court hears

Frank Mujabi/ Ikanos/ Gwokto/ Ocaya p'Ocure/ Reggae Laduma/ Mayimuna/ Afuwa Kasule/ Edward Mo Irundrua

The trial of two Canadian citizens opened yesterday at the Old Bailey in London. John Letts and Sally Lane are both naturalised UK citizens. Their son, Jack Letts, is the  the notorious Jihadi Jack suspected to be an Isis executioner. Jihadi Jack is suspected to have been one of the most prolific executioners of modern times, with a head count as high as 39 victims, including Americans and British journalists, whom he beheaded in televised social media shows., John and Sally are being tried for supporting terrorism, although they never belonged to Isis themselves. But they kept sending money to their son, knowing he was a terrorist, and that the money would be used for purposes of terrorism.

Jihadi Jack has been captured by Kurdish forces and is being help in captivity in Syria. Canada is playing a game that no one seems to understand at the moment. It has not specifically accepted  responsibility for the terrorist activities of its citizens and has left it to the UK to hold the can. At the same time, Canada does not want Jihadi jack deported to America to face trial there because he will most likely face the death penalty. Instead Canada is putting pressure on the UK government to have Jihadi Jack deported to the UK, not Canada, to face trial in the UK courts, not Canadian courts, even though the UK has already cancelled his UK citizenship, so the only citizenship Jihadi Jack has as of now is Canadian citizenship. Canada does not want to accept this responsibility and is funding a separate legal action by Jihadi Jack challenging the cancellation of his UK citizenship, opposing his deportation to America and demanding his release from Kurdish captivity and  return to the UK to face any charges in a UK court under UK law.

Canada is behaving like Sweden. It breeds terrorists but does not want to take responsibility for their actions. Two weeks ago, Swedish police allowed a Muslim terrorist who had stabbed a woman on the streets near Malmo to escape to Denmark so that he could disappear in the criminal underworld and evade trial for terrorism. Fortunately, the Danish police captured the terrorist, but Sweden is still resisting his return to Sweden to face trial there where the terrorist offence took place. It is behaving exactly like Canada.

With friends like Sweden and Canada, I think the war against terrorism is going to be a long and bitter one. Countries need to be committed to fighting terror, and to punishing rather than rewarding their citizens who become murderers and killers.

Bobby

Jihadi Jack's parents sent him money in Syria knowing it could fund terrorism, court hears

Save

John Letts and Sally Lane arrive at the Old Bailey  CREDIT: YUI MOK/PA

•  Martin Evans, crime correspondent

22 MAY 2019 • 4:40PM

The parents of a white Muslim convert - dubbed Jihadi Jack - who sent their son money after he travelled to Syria to join Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), have gone on trial accused of funding terrorism.

John Letts, 58, and Sally Lane, 56, from Oxford, whose son Jack went to the Middle East in 2014, each face three charges in relation to cash they sent him in 2015 and 2016.

The couple deny knowing that the money could be used to fund terrorism, and insist it was only intended to support his welfare.

But opening the case for the prosecution at the Old Bailey, Alison Morgan QC, said there was "every reason for the defendants to suspect that the money sent would or might be used for the purposes of terrorism".

Ms Morgan said while everyone would sympathise with them as parents, the laws preventing the funding of terrorism applied to everybody equally, regardless of their relationship with the recipient.

Addressing the jury of six men and six women, she said: "The defendants are not alleged to be terrorists. They have not been in trouble with the police before. 

"It is not suggested that the defendants supported the ideology or actions of Islamic State in any way, or that they sent the money in order to provide positive support to a terrorist group. 

"However, they sent money to their son, with knowledge or reasonable cause to suspect that it might be used by him or others to support terrorist activity, or that it might fall into the hands of others who would use it for that purpose."

The court heard how Jack Letts, who has a younger brother, grew up in Oxford and converted to Islam at the age of 16.

While his parents initially supported his decision, they did harbour concerns because he had suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder as a child.

Ms Morgan explained that Jack had attended at a mosque on Oxford's Cowley Road where fellow worshippers described him as being "keen to learn" about the religion.

But in 2014 friends at the mosque became concerned that he was showing signs of becoming radicalised and raised the matter with his parents.

After learning that he intended to travel to the Middle East to fight, one of his Muslim friends pleaded with him not to go. 

But the court was told that despite having concerns that Jack intended to go and fight in Syria, Ms Lane purchased a return airline ticket for her son to travel to Amman in Jordan in May 2014.

The court was told he failed to return as planned and instead travelled on to Kuwait and later Turkey before eventually crossing the border into Syria.

It is alleged that while he was in Isil held territory in Syria and Iraq, Mr Letts and Ms Lane, sent their son three money transfers totalling less than £2,000, despite being aware the cash could fall into the hands of the terrorist group.

Ms Morgan told the jury: "It is inevitable that you will have sympathy for them as parents of a man who took himself to Syria, against their wishes."

But she went on: "The law is focused on the greater good, stopping money flowing into terrorist groups. For that reason the Prosecution will allege that it was not open to these defendants to take the law into their own hands and to send money to their son, whatever their own reasons and motives may have been.

"You will hear evidence which shows that both of the defendants knew where Jack was and who he was associating with. 

"Both defendants also believed that Jack was being manipulated by others. Sending money in such circumstances, where you may conclude that it was highly likely to fall into the wrong hands, is against the law."

Mr Letts and Ms Lane deny three counts of entering into a funding arrangement for the purposes of terrorism and the trial continues. Here are two Canadian citizens 

--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ugandans at Heart (UAH) Community" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ugandans-at-heart/CAMs%3D6-yjjXnR930Om5zAehixriRgiYvGEf_LFBw5kTrS27%3DpVQ%40mail.gmail.com.