MELBOURNE, Australia
An Australian nurse who claims he was forced to aid Daesh in Syria did not apply for bail Monday when he appeared before a Melbourne court charged with terror offences.
Adam Brookman, a 39-year-old father of five, has been remanded in custody until his next court appearance on Nov. 16 after the hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates Court lasted less than five minutes.
He has been charged with willingly providing support to a terrorist organization and intending to support a person to engage in a hostile activity, according to ABC News.
The prosecution will argue that Brookman served as a guard and did reconnaissance work for Daesh after assisting at a hospital under their control – where he says he was forced to remain after being injured in an airstrike.
He faces up to 25 years in prison if found guilty of the charges.
Brookman returned to Australia under police custody Friday night after his lawyers engaged in negotiations with the Australian Federal Police since April. He had surrendered last week to authorities in Turkey, where he had allegedly escaped in December.
The ABC reported that police said it would take them 10 weeks to collect evidence overseas.
Brookman did not speak during Monday’s hearing, only nodding or shaking his head when addressed.
The broadcaster quoted his lawyer, Rob Stary, as saying Brookman posed no threat to Australians.
"The Federal Police have taken the view that Mr. Brookman presents as no risk to any person in Australia, and the safety of Australian citizens was their primary concern in helping facilitate Mr. Brookman's repatriation," he said outside the court.
Magistrate Jelena Popovic told Brookman he is eligible to apply for bail before his next court appearance.
The Melbourne-resident reportedly travelled to Syria in early 2014 to offer his medic skills to aid people in the conflict-torn country, where a civil war has been raging since 2011.
"I don't agree with what they [Daesh] do at all," he told Fairfax Media. "I don't agree with their kidnapping, with their dealings with other Muslim groups, and especially after they started executing journalists and other innocent civilians."
Since last year, Australia has been concerned about its nationals joining or supporting groups fighting in the Middle East and the impact it could have on the country in case of their return.
In December, it passed a law banning citizens from traveling to Syria’s Raqqa province, unless they have a “legitimate purpose” for being there, before adding Iraq’s Mosul as a no-go zone in March. Last month, Prime Minister Tony Abbott introduced a controversial law under which Australian dual nationals suspected of involvement in “terrorism” can be stripped of citizenship.
