Police charge a British father with ‘funding terrorism’

CORRECTION: This headline, image and article were updated at 6:20am on 14 February.

West Midlands Police have charged Paul Newey, a 49-year-old father from Solihull, with funding terrorism. It was alleged that Newey sent money to his son Daniel, who is reportedly a volunteer with the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in northeast Syria (aka Rojava).

West Midlands Police arrested Paul in December 2019. His house was searched and phones and laptops were seized. He spent four days in police custody before police released him on bail.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 14 February, charged under Section 17 of the Terrorism Act 2000. This will be the first prosecution in the UK of a family member of an alleged YPG fighter. If convicted, Paul faces up to 14 years in prison.

Daniel Newey told The Canary that he is calling for supporters to attend the hearing in solidarity with his family.

Featured image via GrimsbyT/Wikimedia Commons