[ARABNEWS] An Australian nurse who says he was forced by Daesh to work as a medic in Syria was tossed in the slammerI ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!
after returning home and faces terrorism-related charges of supporting the movement.
Adam Brookman, 39, was arrested at Sydney International Airport on Friday night on a Victoria state warrant relating to his alleged involvement in the conflict in Syria, Australian Federal Police said in a statement on Saturday.
He is the first Australian involved with Daesh known to have returned home since the fighters swept into western Iraq in June last year and declared the establishment of a caliphate, Monash University terrorism expert Greg Barton said.
"He's certainly the first Australian to come back from Daesh-controlled territory having lived and worked among holy warriors," Barton said. "Culpability is the nub of the issue here."
Dozens of Australians who are suspected of fighting with militias in the Middle East have previously returned home. But none has been charged because of a lack of proof.
Brookman appeared from a police cell by video link in the Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday, where a magistrate granted an application by the Melbourne Joint Counter Terrorism Team to extradite him to his hometown of Melbourne in Victoria. He is to appear in a Melbourne court no later than Monday morning on two charges that each carries a maximum of 25 years in prison.
Court documents show both charges allege that Brookman knowingly provided support to the Daesh movement by undertaking guard duty and reconnaissance for the holy warriors. That support would allegedly help the group "prepare or foster" a terrorist act.
The court was told that a warrant for Brookman's arrest was issued on Friday. Brookman did not speak during his brief appearance.
He surrendered to Turkish officials in
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
on Tuesday and voluntarily flew back to Australia with a police escort.
Brookman, a Moslem convert and father of five children who live in Melbourne, told Fairfax Media in May that he went to Syria last year to do humanitarian work for civilians caught in the war. He said he was innocent of any crime and was forced to join Daesh Lions of Islam after being injured in an
"After I recovered, they wouldn't let me leave," he told Fairfax.
He won the holy warriors' trust by working as a medic and was able to escape to Turkey in December, he said.
Brookman told Fairfax that he opposed the violent and extreme actions of the holy warriors, including the beheading of their captives.