LONDON: A British man who allegedly joined Daesh after vanishing from a family holiday as a teenager more than seven years ago has been charged with terrorist offenses.
Shabazz Suleman, 25, went missing on holiday in Turkey in 2014 after finishing his high-school exams and securing a university place in Britain.
In the summer of 2013, Suleman traveled to Syria as part of an aid convoy, but stands accused of returning to the region to serve Daesh and being trained by the terror group to use weapons.
When concerns about his disappearance first surfaced in 2014, Suleman said he was caught up in a secret mass prisoner swap between Ankara and regional armed groups after having been picked up near the Turkish border with Syria.
His father Afzal still works in England and previously said he knew his son “was thinking of going there (Syria) and helping people.”
Suleman was eventually captured in Syria by a Turkish-backed militia group called Liwa Al-Shimal in October 2017.
He told The Times that he was safe, but pleaded for an opportunity to return to Britain to challenge any allegations against him.
He was later freed by a court in Jarabulus, Syria — which is not internationally recognized — after it ruled that there was not enough evidence to convict him.
Suleman had been missing since his release, with some reports placing him in Pakistan. But British counterterrorism police last night confirmed that charges had been secured against him.
He is accused of having prepared for acts of terrorism, membership of a proscribed organization and receiving weapons training.
He was arrested at Heathrow Airport last week and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court.
