Ardern: Kiwi jihadist on his own
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says there is little the Government can do for Mark Taylor, the New Zealander who has been in Syria fighting for Isis. Taylor, a former soldier who has only New Zealand citizenship, has surrendered to Kurdish forces because he says life under Isis had become unbearable.
He is reportedly being held in a Syrian prison.
Taylor — who was called the Kiwi Jihadist and is also known as Mohammad Daniel and Abu Abdul Rahman — told the ABC he had been with the extremist group for five years.
He reportedly burnt his New Zealand passport after going to Syria, and had claimed he had contacted the New Zealand Government to try to get a new one. In 2015, Taylor posted a video calling on Islamic State supporters in New Zealand and Australia to commit terrorist acts at home, “even if it means you have to stab a few police officers or soldiers”.
In the ABC interview, Taylor said he regretted making the video, saying he knew he would probably spend time in jail for making it.
“I’m sorry for . . . being a bit hotheaded and flamboyant in my approach. I don’t know if I can go back to New Zealand, but, at the end of the day, it’s really something I have to live with for the rest of my life.”
Ardern said the Government’s ability to help New Zealanders in Syria was “severely limited” because New Zealand had no diplomatic presence in Syria, and its travel advisory was simply not to travel there.
“New Zealanders should not travel to Syria . . . if you do we cannot help you return. New Zealand does not have a presence in Syria.”
She said Taylor would have to find his way to a New Zealand consulate office to obtain a travel document,
and the nearest one was in Turkey.
The Government did not have any contact with those holding Taylor, and she did not know what his living conditions were like. She would not say if Taylor’s family had been in contact with the Government.
While she would not comment on specifics, Ardern suggested that Taylor would likely be taken into custody under the Terrorism Suppression Act if he returned to New Zealand.
Under the act, anyone who has participated in a terrorist group can be jailed for up to 14 years.
Geopolitical and security analyst Paul Buchanan told Newstalk ZB if Taylor was brought back to New Zealand an example could be made.
“I think the best course of action is to bring him back here, put him on trial and let the world see New Zealand’s standards of justice when it comes to returning jihadis,” he said.
Taylor told the ABC he would be surprised if New Zealand did not take him, although he said it was likely he would have to spend time in prison.
Ardern said she was confident that New Zealanders would be kept safe if Taylor came back. Although she would not detail the Government’s contingency plans, she said it involved police.
She said the Government was reluctant to cancel Taylor’s citizenship because it would effectively make him stateless, and international conventions obliged New Zealand not to make anyone stateless.