An IT consultant from the UK secretly left his job and flew to Syria via Turkey during a civil war, aiming to join militant groups for jihad. Isa Giga, 32, who worked for technology company ANS, informed his family he was going to Birmingham but headed to Syria to become a martyr with terrorist organizations. Giga, then 22 years old, left his family in Hounslow in 2015 and flew out of Heathrow to Turkey, never to return.
In emails to his family, Giga revealed his intentions of fighting for jihad against Assad and ISIS, expressing his belief that he could not stay idle while fellow Muslims were in need. He emphasized that his decision was based on personal conviction and not external influence. Despite his family’s pleas for his return, Giga remained resolute in his commitment to the cause, rejecting any possibility of coming back to the UK.
Ultimately, Giga was sentenced to nine years in prison with an additional year on license for preparing terrorist acts, despite denying the charges and claiming he went to Syria for religious study. He will be monitored as a terrorist offender for 15 years.