The sorry terrorist: Australia’s most wanted ISIS extremist says he feels ‘repentant’ for joining the barbaric group
- Australian jihadi Neil Prakash has confessed he is 'repentant' for joining ISIS
- Standing before the Turkish court, Prakash, 27, admitted he made an error
- 'I feel regret for joining the Islamic State[...],' he said before the Turkish court
- In July, the Australian government lost a bid to have Prakash extradited
An Australian jihadi has confessed he regrets joining Islamic State after being locked up for more than two years in a maximum security prison in Turkey.
Standing before the Turkish court, Neil Prakash, 27, admitted he made an error in judgment to join the extremist group, The Herald Sun reports.
'I feel regret for joining the Islamic State and for the time I spent with them. I feel repentant,' Prakash said in court.
An Australian jihadi Neil Prakash, 27, has confessed he regrets joining Islamic State after more than two years in a maximum security prison in Turkey
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Prakash fought with the caliphate for three years before paying a people smuggler to take him to Turkey
The Melbourne-born jihadi has spent two years and two months in a H-Type maximum-security prison in Gaziantep, Turkey.
Prakash is facing terrorism charges for being a member of a terrorist organisation committing crimes against the state of Turkey.
He faces up to seven-and-a-half to 15 years in prison if found guilty.
In July, the Australian government lost a bid to have Prakash extradited to face local terrorism charges.
The Muslim convert became radicalised at a Melbourne bookshop and moved to Syria in 2013.
He fought with the caliphate for three years before paying a people smuggler to take him to Turkey.
The Melbourne-born jihadi has spent two years and two months in a H-Type maximum-security prison in Gaziantep, Turkey
Yet he was caught crossing the Syrian border into Turkey and arrested by police after an Australian tip off in October 2016.
Police said at the time he was a senior member for Islamic State.
He was accused of being part of a terrorist organisation, involved in recruiting and financing a terror group and urging terror attacks.
Prakash’s next court appearance is on February 20.
NEIL PRAKASH: FROM MELBOURNE BUDDHIST TO ISIS FIGHTER AND RECRUITER
Prakash was arrested in 2016 when he crossed the Syrian border into Turkey after fighting in Syria and Iraq
1991
Neil Prakash is born in Melbourne, of Fijian and Cambodian descent. He was raised a Buddhist
2012
He converts to Islam and attends the controversial al-Furqan Islamic Centre in Melbourne
2013
Prakash leaves Australia to join the Islamic State in Syria. Takes the jihadi name Abu Khaled al-Cambodi and appears in IS propaganda videos. Recruits would-be terrorists in Australia
2014
His Australian passport is cancelled
2015
Australian federal police issue a warrant for his arrest through Interpol
Prakash is linked to a failed Melbourne plot to behead a police officer on Anzac Day 2015
Prakash publicly praises Numan Haider, the 18-year-old who was killed after stabbing two police officers outside a Melbourne police station in 2014
2016
April
The US - incorrectly - announces Prakash has been killed in a drone strike
2016
October
Prakash is captured by Turkish authorities trying to cross from Syria using false documents and imprisoned on terrorism-related charges
2018
July
A Turkish court rejects Australia's application for his extradition and a judge orders his release. Moments later, he is back behind bars to face local terror charges
September
Prakash claims the Islamic State forced him to take part in propaganda videos and recruit members because he was Australian
December
Prakash admits he feels 'regret' for his participation with Islamic State. 'I feel regret for joining the Islamic State and for the time I spent with them. I feel repentant,' he said
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