Parents of UK’s ‘Jihadi Jack’ guilty of funding terrorism

John Letts and Sally Lane were given a suspended sentence

John Letts and Sally Lane, the parents of Jack Letts, arrive for their court case over money sent to their son in Syria. PA  

Parents of a man who left the UK and allegedly joined ISIS have been found guilty of funding terrorism for sending him money.

A jury at London’s Old Bailey found John Letts, 58, and Sally Lane, 57, guilty on Friday of sending £223 (Dh 1040) to their son, despite warnings by police they could face prosecution.

Jack Letts, branded ‘Jihadi Jack’ by British media, is thought to have travelled to Syria in 2014 as a 16 year old and is now being held by Kurdish forces in the worn-torn country.

His parents said they sent him the cash in September 2015 to help him escape Syria, but prosecutors say the pair “turned a blind eye” to warnings given to them earlier that year about funding terrorism by sending money to their son.

The couple were found not guilty of attempting to send the sum of £1000 in December 2015, and a verdict on a further charge of sending £500 in January 2016 was inconclusive.

Speaking outside court after the verdict, the couple said “ We have been convicted for doing what any parent would do if they thought their child was in danger.”

In a February interview with Britain’s ITV News, Jack Letts said he missed his mother and home comforts.

“I miss people mostly, I miss my mum. Five years I haven’t seen my mum, two years I haven’t spoken to my mum. I miss pasties. And Doctor Who,” he said of the long-running British television series.

Letts and Lane were sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended for a year.