I was given no choice, says alleged Islamic fighter as he is escorted back to Aussie
THE first alleged member of the Islamic State to return to Australia was being escorted by authorities into Sydney yesterday after giving himself up to Australian Federal Police in Turkey.
Police and security agencies have been sharing information about Adam Brookman’s activities in the Middle East with a view to charging the Melbourne nurse with serious criminal offences.
Brookman has been in Syria since early last year, including in territory controlled by the terrorist organisation.
He claims he was forced to work with IS after he travelled to Syria to do humanitarian work, and insists he never carried out an act of violence.
He revealed in May that he had fled IS, was hiding out in Turkey and wanted to come home.
He claims he was forced to join the terrorist group after being injured in an air strike and sent to a hospital that was under IS control.
However, Australian authorities are sceptical of some of Brookman’s claims and will question him with a view to charging him under terrorist legislation that prohibits travelling to ‘‘declared areas,’’ or giving aid to terrorism.
Authorities consider Brookman to be a supporter of extremist causes, including the creation of an Islamic caliphate, although gathering hard evidence about his activities abroad will be challenging for the AFP.
The deal Brookman struck with authorities involved him handing himself in to authorities in Turkey and being arrested as he landed in Sydney.
In return, the Australian Federal Police agreed to facilitate his return to Australia, travelling with him on a plane and escorting him to AFP headquarters in Sydney upon his arrival.
Police will interview him in an attempt to gain evidence about his activities overseas and test his claims that he was an unwilling IS conscript.
It is likely that police will also examine information gathered by Western intelligence agencies about Brookman’s travel, associates, financial activity, communications and any conflict-related activities.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott
The return raises legal issues under Australia’s anti-terror laws, where the onus of proof has been reversed: if you have been in a declared area, you must prove that you were not fighting with Islamic State.
Monash University anti-terror expert Professor Greg Barton said if Brookman ‘‘comes clean’’ and handed over all his communications, Australian authorities ‘‘may well say that on balance of probability, his story is plausible, and we won’t prosecute’’.
However, the issue is likely to become a political firestorm, with Prime Minister Tony Abbott saying in May that returnees should feel the full force of the law.
‘‘If you go and you seek to come back, as far as this government is concerned you will be arrested, you will be prosecuted and you will be jailed,’’ he said.
However, police may find it difficult to secure a prosecution. A well placed security source said: ‘‘The problem is getting evidence to support our suspicions.’’
It is understood Brookman met radical Islamic figures during his travels in the Middle East.
He appears to have avoided discussing his activities online, creating one Facebook page using an alias that described his location as Antarctica.
In a statement, the AFP’s national manager for counterterrorism, Neil Gaughan, said Brookman was ‘‘subject to ongoing investigations’’ and that ‘‘at this stage’’ had not been charged.
‘‘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.’’
Brookman’s AFP-facilitated return is likely to be welcomed by family members of the wife and children of Australia’s most notorious fighter, Khaled Sharrouf. They are attempting to negotiate with Australian authorities to return to Australia.
Sharrouf was reportedly killed, along with his friend, Mohamed Elomar, in a recent coalition air strike, although authorities have not been able to confirm his death.
In an exclusive interview in May, Brookman, a father of five, denounced the slaughter of innocent civilians, including by crucifixion, in the war zone in Syria.
‘‘I don’t agree with what they do at all,’’ he said at the time.
‘‘I don’t agree with their kidnapping, with their dealings with other Muslim groups, and especially after they started executing journalists and other innocent civilians.
‘‘I never went there to fight, I went there as a nurse. I support the struggle of the Syrian people.’’
Brookman said he had no choice but to join IS after he was sent to a hospital under the control of the group.
‘‘After I recovered they would not let me leave.’’