Returning YPG fighter Aiden Aslin detained by police after arriving at Manchester Airport

Aiden Aslin (23) is accused of joining the Yekîneyên Parastinê Gel (YPG), one of the Kurdish forces that has had great victories fighting against Islamic State (IS). He has been on bail since February and is expecting a hearing on whether he will be charged or not on the 20th of July. The bail conditions severely impede Aiden's life. We stand in solidarity with Aiden Aslin in this struggle and call for mobilisation to pressurise the authorities to lift the bail conditions and not bring any charges to Aiden. The Nottingham Kurdish Solidarity Campaign has called for a protest to be held outside the court from 1pm on the 20th of July.

Probably more than 1,000 – British nationals have taken the very brave decision to go and fight against Daesh in Syria and Iraq. Mr Aslin has been bailed until April. A Nottinghamshire police spokesman confirmed:

‘A 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of engaging in conduct in preparation to commit an act of terrorism (Section 5 of the 2000 Terrorism Act) and weapons training (Section 54 of the 2000 Terrorism Act) after arriving back in the UK.

Before his arrest, Mr Aslin described dodging artillery and incoming bullets as his unit played a key role in capturing enemy territory near Mount Sinjar – to which tens of thousands of refugees have headed after fleeing IS.

The Lions of Rojava were taking on gunmen from IS – also known as Daesh – in the Syrian village of al-Hawl when Mr Aslin’s makeshift armoured car came under direct enemy fire.

‘I was going towards IS fighters who were less than 60 metres away,’ he said. ‘I was in a home-made tank. I heard the bullets hitting the outside of the tank and waited for rocket-propelled grenades to hit.
The village had a lot of improvised explosive devices too, so as well as looking out for Daesh, we also had to watch where we stepped. They also tried to counter-attack us using car bombs.