‘Go ahead, trash my passport’
A former Australian doctor now helping Islamic State (ISIL) in Syria has responded to moves to arrest him, saying he no longer considers himself a citizen and the prospect of his passport being cancelled does not concern him.
A warrant for Tareq Kamleh’s arrest was obtained by the Australian Federal Police at a closed hearing of the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday.
In a post on Facebook, Kamleh, 29, said he had “no concern” about any moves to cancel his passport or registration as a doctor.
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“I no longer consider myself an Australian,” he said.
“I anticipated an arrest warrant, hence why I left in secret.”
In the post, which was addressed to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), Kamleh said he intends to stay in Syria, and denied he has a “malicious character”.
“It is this injustice within the Australian judicial system that was a catalyst for me to leave.”
Police allege Kamleh is a member of, and recruited for, a terrorist organisation and that he entered a “declared area” under section 119.2 of the Criminal Code Act.
AHPRA announced recently that the Medical Board of Australia had begun regulatory action over Kamleh’s medical registration.
Kamleh worked in hospitals in South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory and remains registered as a doctor in Western Australia.
The former paediatric registrar recently appeared in an ISIL propaganda video revealing he had gone to Syria to work for the terrorist organisation.
South Australian police said their joint counter-terrorism team had obtained the warrant and would be able to arrest Kamleh immediately if he returned to Australia.