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British IS suspect's parents charged with terrorism offense

Xinhua, June 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

The parents of an alleged Islamic State (IS) suspect from Oxfordshire were charged here on Thursday for having provided money to their son, known as "Jihadi Jack."

The couple, John Letts, 55, and his wife Sally Lane, 54, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday morning where they were accused of funding their 20-year-old son Jack Letts, who used the money to support violent extremism, according to local media reports.

Both Letts, a leading organic farmer, and Lane, a book editor, were charged with three counts of "making money available knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect that it may be used for a terrorist purpose."

The mother was also charged with two further counts of "arranging the availability of property or money to another person knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect it could be used for the purpose of terrorism."

The court heard they sent more than 1,700 British pounds (2,459 U.S. dollars) to their son from September last year to January 2016, though knowing it would be used for terrorism, and Lane attempted to send 1,000 British pounds to her son this January.

The two denied all the charges and also denied their son has any involvement with terrorism. The case was sent to the Old Bailey for a pre-trial hearing later this month.

Jack Letts left Britain and traveled to Syria last year and is believed to have joined the IS. He is the first white Briton to have joined the terror group. Endit