A man has been found guilty of travelling to Syria to fight with a terrorist group linked to al Qaida for jihad.
Isa Giga, 32, resigned from his job as a technical support consultant job at a technology firm and bought a business class return flight to Turkey before crossing into wartorn Syria in August 2015.
Despite pleas from his family, Giga did not return to the UK for nine years and was arrested upon his arrival on a flight from Turkey last May.
Following a trial at the Old Bailey, he was found guilty of preparation of terrorist acts between August 31 2015 and August 31 2016 by travelling to Syria to fight with the Jaysh Al Fath groups.
The court heard how Giga had left the home he shared with his parents and sister in Hounslow, west London, in August 2015 and informed them he had gone to Syria for jihad.
On September 11 2015 – the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States – he told his sister: “I have come here to fight for jihad. I’m based in Idlib province and I fight for Jaysh al Fath which is the rebel coalition which includes the Free Syrian Army up to al Qaida-linked groups.
“I have come here to fight against (Bashar) Assad and also to fight against Isis. I can’t sit at home when fellow Muslims are in need and their religion is in danger.”
His father responded: “Please don’t do anything that will break my or your mother’s or family’s heart, stay within the bounds of true Islam and humanity, stay away from extremism and follow the Sunnah.”
But in a further message to his sister, Giga said he had finished his training and had been given the “opportunity to fight on the front line in the near future”.
He told her: “I hope more than anything to gain martyrdom while fighting against Isis or against the Assad regime but I fear death as much as anyone else so I am in need of your duas (prayers).”
The court heard that Giga’s father did everything he could to try to convince his son to return home and travelled to Reyhanli, a small Turkish town close to the Syrian border.
In a letter to Giga from the border, he wrote: “I have promısed your mum that somehow I will try my best to convince you to come out of there, and we will settle down anywhere in this world where you feel comfortable and happy…
“Can you for one minute imagine what the rest of her life will be like if something was to happen to you? Isa, her life wıll be destroyed and so will all of ours.
“It is on that basis I beg you to stay safe and come out of there immediately. And stay away from the front line because the Russians are using all kınds of firepower.”
However, Giga appeared to be set on “martyrdom”, the court heard.
Then in December 2015, Giga told his sister that he planned on doing charity work – although the organisation concerned had no record of it – and by August 2016 contact with his family petered out.
Eight years later, Giga was issued an emergency passport by the British Consulate in Istanbul.
Police were waiting when Giga arrived at Heathrow Airport on a Turkish Airlines flight on May 23 2024.
Following his arrest, Giga made no comment in police interviews but in a prepared statement denied he had travelled to Syria to fight or join any groups.
He claimed he had lied to his family about doing charity work, training, fighting and joining groups because he thought they would struggle to understand the idea of going there simply to live.
Giving evidence in his Old Bailey trial, Giga maintained that he had gone to Syria only to live in an Islamic state.
A jury deliberated for 10 hours and 26 minutes to reject his version of events and find him guilty by a majority of 11 to one.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC ordered a report and adjourned sentencing to October 17.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “We have been clear for some time now that anyone returning to the UK suspected of being involved in any terrorist-related activity overseas will be thoroughly investigated.
“We work very closely with other partners and agencies here in the UK and overseas in order to do this and help keep the public safe.
“As this case shows, we will always arrest those who return to the UK after fighting for a terrorist group, no matter how long it has been since they left the country.”
