A male Aussie nurse who had joined ISIL Takfiri terrorists in Syria has been detained after turning himself in to Turkish authorities and is facing terrorism-related charges at home.
The arrest of Adam Brookman was announced Saturday in a statement by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) after he “voluntarily” returned to his native country with police escort Friday evening on a flight from Turkey, local and wire service reports said. He had fled to Turkey from ISIL-controlled territory in Syria back in December.
"A 39-year-old Australian national was arrested upon arrival at Sydney International Airport last night on an interstate arrest warrant, relating to his alleged involvement in the conflict in Syria," said the AFP statement.
He appeared Saturday in the Parramatta Bail Court in Sydney via a video link from a police cell where the court magistrate ordered his extradition to Victoria by the Melbourne Joint Counter Terrorism Team, AP reported.
In a May interview with Australia's Fairfax Media, Brookman, who is a father of five children and lives in Melbourne, denied involvement in the “violent and extreme actions” of ISIL terrorists and claimed he went to Syria last year to do humanitarian work for civilians and got involved in the ongoing conflict there.
Brookman further claimed he was injured in an airstrike on an ISIL-occupied area of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, where Takfiri terrorists moved him a to hospital, “forcing” him to join ISIL.
"After I recovered, they wouldn't let me leave," he added in the interview. "Of course, there will be an investigation. That is fine. Hopefully things don't look that bad."
The Australian nurse also stated that he had to work as a medic for a while till December 2014, when he managed to escape to neighboring Turkey and turned himself in to authorities there.
This is while Australian authorities announced last December that being in the ISIL-occupied Syrian city of al-Raqqa with no good reason is a crime that could result in a 10-year imprisonment.
Meanwhile, the AFP statement announcing Brookman’s arrest on Saturday added, "The public can rest assured that any Australian who is identified as a threat to security will be investigated by the relevant agencies."
"If there is evidence an Australian has committed a criminal offence under Australia law while involved in the conflict in Syria and Iraq, they will be charged and put before the courts,” it underlined.
The development comes as Aussie police issued a warrant last month for the arrest of Australian physician Tareq Kamleh, who is working in an al-Raqqa hospital and was identified while appearing in a recruitment video used by the ISIL terror group.
Introducing himself as Abu Yusuf, the 29 year-old former pediatric registrar urged Western health workers to join him in the bid to “help” the ISIL campaign in the region.
Analysts say the Western countries have played a key role in the emergence of the ISIL by supporting the militant groups fighting the Syrian government forces.
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source : aljazeera
Saturday
25 July 2015
12:02:50 PM
702262
A male Aussie nurse who had joined ISIL Takfiri terrorists in Syria has been detained after turning himself in to Turkish authorities and is facing terrorism-related charges at home.