Terrorist Neil Prakash could keep his Australian citizenship despite the government's promise to strip it from him - because Fiji claims the ISIS recruiter never held dual nationality
- Australian jihadi Neil Prakash may be able to keep his Australian citizenship
- The Melbourne-born jihadi featured in ISIS videos and moved to Syria in 2013
- The 27-year-old has been in custody near the Syrian boarder for about two years
ISIS jihadist and recruiter Neil Prakash may be able to keep his Australian citizenship - despite Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton ordering it be stripped.
The Melbourne-born 27-year-old was originally thought to have dual Australian and Fijian citizenship.
However, the process of removing Prakash's Australian citizenship hit a wall on Tuesday after the Fijian immigration department director revealed Prakash never had Fijian citizenship, according to Reuters.
ISIS jihadist and recruiter Neil Prakash (pictured) may be able to keep his Australian citizenship
The Melbourne-born 27-year-old was originally thought to have dual Australian and Fijian citizenship
The Australian Government understood Prakash had Fijian citizenship through his father.
Yet the Fijian immigration department has reportedly claimed the jihadist never had Fijian citizenship, as he was born in Australia and never applied for Fijian citizenship.
The revelation Prakash was not a dual national will render the Australian Government powerless.
Under the 2007 Citizenship Act, Australia is unable to leave anyone stateless.
Prakash was set to be the 12th dual national to have their citizenship revoked over associations with overseas terror groups.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said the safety and security of Australian was his main priority.
'This government is determined to deal with foreign terrorist fighters as far from our shores as possible,' Mr Dutton said.
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'Islamic State is opposed to Australia, our interests, values, democratic beliefs, rights and liberties.'
Earlier this year, Mr Dutton said he hoped Prakash rotted in a Turkish jail after a court rejected the Melbourne-born terrorist's extradition to Australia to face justice.
Prakash has been in custody near the border with Syria since 2016 after he attempted to enter Turkey with false documents.
The Melbourne-born jihadi has spent two years and two months in a H-Type maximum-security prison in Gaziantep, Turkey
Earlier this year, Mr Dutton said he hoped Prakash rotted in a Turkish jail after a court rejected the Melbourne-born terrorist's extradition to Australia to face justice
He is facing charges of committing crimes against Turkey by being a member of Islamic State - which could result in him spending 15 years in prison.
Prakash has previously admitted being a member of ISIS.
The former rapper from Melbourne had featured in ISIS videos and has been linked to a failed Melbourne plot to behead a police officer.
He is considered Australia's most wanted terrorist, with connections to a number of Australian jihadis.
He is considered Australia's most wanted terrorist, with connections to a number of Australian jihadis
He is facing charges of committing crimes against Turkey by being a member of Islamic State - which could result in him spending 15 years in prison
Prakash has also been linked to another attack in which two officers were stabbed outside a Melbourne police station.
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.
Yet he was caught crossing the Syrian border into Turkey and arrested by police after an Australian tip off in October 2016.
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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