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by yardie 3160 days ago
If you don’t read the article and think the Intercept is being hyperbolic as they normally are. Rest assured the title is exactly what happened. Walker was charged under terrorism laws not for planning, conspiring, nor performing acts of terrorism. The prosecutor made the argument that possessing the book was an act of terrorism. A book he downloaded from the school library. Also equally available on the Amazon and downloadable from internet since the dawn of the WWW.
2 comments
Silhouette 3160 days ago
We have some pretty scary laws on the books here in the UK, not least in terms of chilling effects. Those of us who support human rights and generally democratic and civilised society have always expressed concern about broad reach and excessive powers and lack of effective oversight. Unfortunately our voice is not loud enough when fear is the opposition, even if that fear is mostly irrational and stoked more by the government and media than the bad guys. Sometimes I wonder who is really causing the most damage in the first place these days.
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petercooper 3160 days ago
If you don’t read the article and think the Intercept is being hyperbolic as they normally are. Rest assured the title is exactly what happened.

.. with the minor addition that he was initially arrested upon returning from helping a militia in the Middle East.

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tim333 3160 days ago
Though an anti ISIL militia backed by the US, other western nations and Russia.

'The YPG is regarded as the "most effective" force in fighting ISIL in Syria' according to Wikipedia. I dare say Erdogan hates the YPG which is probably why the Brits have to be a bit half hearted in their backing. Got to think of the arms exports after all https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/22/uk-arms-sales-...

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petercooper 3160 days ago
That's what I suspect was the reason for the unusual charge.

The powers that be are under pressure to show they're doing "something" about people who come back from fighting in the Middle East but since this wasn't for a terrorist organization, there was no obvious charge. I'd argue it was right for them to search his belongings given the circumstances, but then they decided to try and pin it all on owning the cookbook as that's all they really had.

Not that I think this was the right call for them, but I can see how it might happen, and also why the millions of others who've downloaded the cookbook out of curiosity have not ended up in court.

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