'IS' doctor wanted by Australia
June 18, 2015
Police allege that he is a member of, and recruited for, a terrorist organization - in this case "Islamic State" (IS) - and that he entered a prohibited area under Australia's Criminal Code Act. "Should Dr Kamleh return to Australia, this warrant authorizes law enforcement to arrest him immediately," a statement released on Thursday said.
In April, Tareq Kamleh, a 29-year-old doctor who was trained in Adelaide, Australia, appeared in a propaganda video uploaded on Youtube, asking Western doctors and other medical professionals to join him in al-Raqqa in Syria, an IS stronghold.
Kamleh, who has a Palestinian father and a German-born Muslim convert mother, calls himself Abu Yusuf in the video and describes his work as "my jihad for Islam."
As part of new counter-terrorism measures, Australia has banned travel to al-Raqqa province in Syria and Mosul in Iraq. Kamleh faces up to 45 years in prison.
Last September, Australia raised its threat level to "high" and has since carried out a series of counter-terrorism raids. The country has seen dozens of Australians leaving to fight in Iraq and Syria.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has taken a hard line against Australians engaging in extremism. "If you are just an Australian citizen and you are a terrorist and you come back to Australia, we will lock you up," he reiterated to parliament on Thursday.
ng/jil (AP, AFP)