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Accused ISIS terrorist Neil Prakash faces Darwin court after flight from Turkey

Neil Prakash has faced an Australian court for the first time after being deported from Turkey. <i>Photo: AAP</i>

Neil Prakash has faced an Australian court for the first time after being deported from Turkey. Photo: AAP

Eight years after allegedly joining the Islamic State terror group, accused jihadi Neil Prakash has faced an Australian court after being deported from Turkey.

The charges he faces include engaging in hostile activity in a foreign state, and a separate charge of engaging in hostile activity in a foreign country, each hold a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Australian Federal Police assistant commissioner Sandra Booth said the agency had been working “tirelessly” to bring Prakash to justice.

“The AFP and our partners are committed to keeping Australians safe,” Asst. Comm. Booth said.

Prakash was flown to the Northern Territory on a charter flight on Friday morning after being jailed in Turkey.

In 2016, he was wrongly thought to have been killed in a US military strike in the Iraqi city of Mosul before Australian officials confirmed he was still alive and had been arrested in Turkey.

Northern Territory Local Court Chief Judge Elizabeth Morris granted an extradition order to transfer him to Victoria on or before December 9 to face court in Melbourne.

Stony silence in court

Prakash, who appeared in court via a video link, declined legal representation and remained silent when Justice Morris asked him to confirm his identity.

Dressed in a white T-shirt and bearded, he sat with his head down for most of the proceedings. Prakash did not respond when asked if he had any questions about the extradition order or wanted to apply for bail.

He was formally identified by Victorian detective Andrew Gibney, who told the court Parkash had distinct scars and a tattoo of a family member’s name on his chest.

Det Snr Const Gibney also said the Australian Border Force had confirmed Prakash’s identity using passport photos taken before he left Australia.

Prakash was flown to the Northern Territory on a charter flight on Friday morning after being jailed in Turkey.

In 2016, he was wrongly thought to have been killed in a US military strike in the Iraqi city of Mosul. However, later the same year Australian officials confirmed he was still alive and had been arrested in Turkey.

Former home affairs minister Peter Dutton revoked Prakash’s citizenship in 2018 over his alleged IS participation and on the grounds he was Fijian.

Fijian immigration officials insisted Prakash, born to a Fijian father, had never held nor sought citizenship and refused to accept him.

Social media recruiter

Prakash rose to prominence over his alleged links to several terror plots in Australia and use of social media to lure potential recruits to IS. He was also listed in IS documents as one of the group’s top recruiters.

In a statement, the AFP said its officers maintained a thorough framework to manage Australians facing terrorism offences and there was no threat to the community.

Prakash was on the same flight as an alleged major Sydney underworld figure who fled Australia for Turkey while on trial for drug offences.

Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Nigel Ryan said any wanted Australians in Turkey would be extradited.

“We are relentless in relation to tracking down these people who seek to do harm in Australia,” Mr Ryan said earlier on Friday.

“We will relentlessly track them down, get them back and have them face justice here.”

-AAP

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