– Reuters pic, July 25, 2015.An Australian nurse accused of giving medical assistance to the Islamic State militant group fighting in Syria has been arrested and will appear in a Sydney court on Saturday, police said.
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His extradition was not opposed.
He will face court in Melbourne first thing on Monday.
Court documents outline one charge relates to Brookman knowingly providing support to IS by undertaking guard duty and reconnaissance between April 2010 and August 2014.
Brookman, who was sporting a hoodie as he was held in custody at the Surry Hills Police Centre, did not speak during the brief appearance.
The Melbourne-based father-of-five, widely named as Islamic convert Adam Brookman, surrendered to Turkish officials earlier this week ahead of his arrival in Sydney late Friday.
It is alleged that support would help the group “prepare or foster” a terrorist act.
In an interview with Australia’s Fairfax Media in May, Brookman said he first travelled to Syria to perform humanitarian work, but had been forced to join ISIL when he was injured in an air strike and treated at a hospital controlled by the armed group, north of Aleppo.
Speaking to Fairfax, he said he fled to Turkey where he surrendered to officials after seeing IS atrocities including crucifixion.
“After I recovered, they wouldn’t let me leave”, he told Fairfax.
He won the militants’ trust by working as a medic and was able to escape to Turkey in December, he said.
If charged, the onus would be on Brookman to prove he had a legitimate reason to be in the region.
Islamic State militants have had conspicuous success in recruiting in Australia, which has 24 million people.
“If there is evidence an Australian has committed a criminal offence under Australia law while involved in the conflict in Syria and Iraq, they will be charged and put before the courts”, an AFP spokesman said.
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The government estimates that up to half the Australian foreign fighters are dual nationals.
