Former British soldier who tried to fight ISIS in Syria spared jail after court hears he wouldn’t be safe from Muslim extremists in UK prison
Robert Clarke, 23, was arrested at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of attempting to leave the UK to travel to the Middle East to join the fight against terrorism
A FORMER soldier who was arrested as he made his way to fight ISIS and charged with terrorism offences has been spared jail after receiving "nasty threats".
Robert Clarke, 23, was arrested at Heathrow Airport in September on suspicion of attempting to leave the UK to travel to the Middle East to join the fight against terrorism.
He refused to give officials his phone when he was arrested and then received death threats from Islamic when it was reported he was attempting to fight on the frontline in Iraq.
Today, on his 23rd birthday, Clarke was sentenced at Westminster Magistrates' Court to a community order with unpaid work for an offence under the Terrorism Act of failing to give officers his mobile phone pin number when required to do so, after a judge heard how he had planned to join up with Kurdish forces.
Karina Claire, mitigating, said: "He served in the armed forces. He wanted to help women and children, and had packed with him a number of medical supplies.
"He also had items certainly to defend himself in armed combat. He describes his behaviour of that of a teenage brat."
Ms Claire told the court Clarke had received death threats while in custody, and been placed in solitary confinement.
She said: "As a result of press coverage he was sent extremely nasty threats from Islamic extremists or people purporting to support Islamic extremism.
"I received a call, which is unusual as counsel, from a member of staff at the prison he'd been to and they had concerns about his safety in prison, bearing in mind he said he wanted to fight against ISIS."
At an earlier hearing Clarke, of Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, who was charged on December 7, admitted wilfully obstructing a schedule seven examination under the Terrorism Act on September 13 2016.
Clarke, who previously served four years in the Army, was about to board a flight to Jordan when he was detained and questioned by detectives.
Louise Gray, prosecuting, said: "On July 16 Mr Clarke came to the attention of the police because he was considering travelling to Syria to fight against Isis with the Kurds.
"As a result of this queries police officers made contact with Mr Clarke on four separate occasions to discuss why he wanted to travel and the risks of travelling to Syria."
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He was then difficult about allowing access to his phone and came up with several excuses for the police, Ms Gray said.
She said: "At first request said he had forgotten it. He then said it was one, two, three, then said he couldn't remember it.
"He said he changed his account and it needed a fingerprint to access.
"That didn't work and then he said that was maybe because he had dropped it."
Ms Gray then read out quotes from Clarke in his police interview where he swore at officers.
He said: "I'm not telling you s--t. Charge me with perverting the course of justice.
"F**k your interview and f**k you."
Clarke added that he didn't believe he'd broken any laws because "the Kurds are not a proscribed terrorist organisation".
He admitted a search under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act last month.
Kurdish militia fighters, known as Peshmerga, have been backed by a number of British, American and Canadian volunteers fighting ISIS.
District Judge John Zani handed Clarke a 12-month community order, requiring him to perform 50 hours unpaid work, banning him from leaving the British Isles for 12-months, and requiring him to pay a victim surcharge of £85.
He said: "The most important bit of mitigation is that you have served three weeks in prison, some of that in solitary confinement.
"We live in difficult and potentially dangerous times.
"Had you not served the sentence that you had you would almost certainly be going to prison.
"It is for that reason that I'm sentencing you to a community order."
Clarke, of Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, was handed a 12-month community order.
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