Accused Isil fighter: ‘Ireland is my home, I want to return’

THE 45-year-old Irish citizen arrested in Syria for alleged membership of Isil has said he wants to return to Ireland and “this is my right”.

Alexandr Bekmirzaev, originally from Belarus, is regarded as a “serious player” by gardaí investigating the activities of suspected jihadis when he lived here.

He said he worked as a bouncer in Lillie’s Bordello nightclub before deciding to go to Syria to help in the fight against Bashar al-Assad.

He is currently being held by the Syrian Democratic Forces having been arrested on suspicion of being a member of Isil.

Speaking in custody, he denied being a fighter and said he went to Syria to work in the medical field.

He said he wants to return to Ireland and deal with the authorities there.

“If they want to put me on trial that is their right. Ireland is my home, and I want to go back. This is my right,” he said.

“If I am a bad son of this country, this is still my home. If you think I’m a bad person, it doesn’t mean you have to throw me in the sea.”

Bekmirzaev is one of half-a-dozen people suspected to have left Ireland to fight for Isil.

He was regarded by gardaí as a “person of interest” and was described by one officer as “a lot more than a sympathiser”.

He was suspected of being heavily involved in providing logistical support to Isil fighters.