Aussie govt stands by decision
Australia’s immigration minister insists the government has followed the law properly in stripping Neil Prakash’s citizenship, amid doubts he’s not a dual citizen.
The federal government is standing by its decision to strip an alleged recruiter for Islamic State (ISIS) of his Australian citizenship despite speculation it has left him stateless. Melbourne-born Prakash – who is in jail in Turkey facing terrorism charges – was notified at the weekend his citizenship had been annulled because of his connections to IS. The government believes Prakash, 27, is a dual national as his father was Fijian.
However, the head of Fiji’s Immigration Department said Prakash was not one of its citizens, the Fiji Sun newspaper reported on Tuesday.
A person with such dual status can be stripped of their Australian citizenship if they engage in terrorism-related conduct, and Islamic State was declared a terrorist organisation in 2016 for this purpose. The government cannot revoke single Australian citizenship as that would leave a person stateless.
“Neil Prakash has not been or is a Fijian citizen. He was born in Australia and has acquired Australian citizenship since birth,” he was quoted as saying.
“The Department has searched the Immigration system and confirms that he has not entered the country nor applied for citizenship since birth.”
However, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Immigration Minister David Coleman on Wednesday said a board of senior security and department officials had carefully considered whether Prakash was a foreign national before his citizenship was revoked and stood by the decision. Mr Dutton said the government had been in close contact with Fiji officials since Prakash was determined to have lost his citizenship.
“Australia will continue our close co-operation with Fiji on this issue,” he said in a statement.
Mr Coleman said the government had followed the process outlined in section 35 of the Citizenship Act, as it had done with nearly a dozen other people.
“We’ve followed the law of Australia and (to) this individual the law has been applied,” Mr Coleman told 2GB radio.
“As a consequence, he has lost his Australian citizenship.”
Prakash has been in Turkey on trial for charges relating to being a member of Islamic State since being caught there in October 2016 after leaving Islamic State-controlled territory.
Canberra is seeking his extradition pending the outcome of his trial and any jail term he serves in Turkey. If later convicted in Australia, he would also serve time there.
Neil Prakash tells court he regrets joining Islamic State terror group
Terrorist Neil Prakash said at his latest appearance in a court in Turkey that he was “repentant” and that it had been a mistake to join the Islamic State extremist group.
“I feel regret for joining the Islamic State and for the time I spent with them. I feel repentant,” the Australian said at the latest of his many court appearances since he was arrested in 2016.
The latest hearing had been due to hear a report from Turkey’s cybercrime unit on what information they had extracted from the Melbourne-born 27-year-old’s phone and his online activity.
But the judge Harun Ceyhan said that the report had not been received and it was expected to be presented at Prakash’s next scheduled appearance on February 20 next year at the same court in the town of Kilis near the border with Syria.
Prakash is facing local terrorism charges of committing crimes against the state of Turkey by being a member of a terrorist organisation, which carries a penalty of between 7.5 years and 15 years’ jail.
The Turkish court in July rejected a bid by the Australian Government to have him extradited to Australia to face charges relating to his prolific recruiting and propaganda role with Islamic State.
Speaking in Turkish, Prakash said on Thursday: “I’ve been in jail for two years and two months and I want to be released.”
His state-appointed defence lawyer Resat Devran requested bail but this was rejected. Prakash was asked by the judge about the two women – a Bangladesh and a Somalian – he was with when he was captured on the Turkish-Syrian border in October 2016. “Why are you asking about them? I have nothing to do with them,” he replied in English, before adding in Turkish: “They are not my family.”
Prakash, who was wearing glasses for the first time in court, was speaking via video link from the jail in the nearby town of Gaziantep where he is being held.
The judge said he had asked immigration officials and police about the women’s status and had been told that they were not being held and their location was unknown.