Mr Neil Prakash was born in Melbourne. He is of Fijian-Cambodian descent and was raised as a Buddhist, before converting to Islam in 2012.
Prakash, left Australia to join IS in 2013 and has been in Turkish custody since 2016 after attempting to enter the country from Syria with false documents. He claims to have left Syria because he feared for his life.
He has appeared in numerous IS videos and authorities suspect he was linked to a failed Melbourne terror plot to behead a police officer on Anzac Day 2015. The Australian government alleges Mr Prakash worked for IS as a senior recruiter, claims the 27-year-old denies.
He has previously admitted being a member of IS but said he had nothing to do with the group in Australia.
Australian-born Islamic State recruit Neil Prakash will spend more time in a Turkish prison after being denied bail by a local court.
A court in the city of Kilis rejected a request for Mr Prakash’s release, postponing his trial on local terror charges until December.
“The period of time he has been incarcerated is really long so we requested his release, but it was denied. We will file an appeal to the courts,” Mr Prakash’s court-appointed lawyer Resat Davran said.
In July, Turkey rejected Australia’s request to extradite Mr Prakash to face terror charges in Australia. He faces a potential life sentence if convicted in Australia of terrorism offences.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has said he would be happy to see Mr Prakash remain in Turkey to “rot in jail”.
Mr Prakash’s lawyer said his client could be sentenced up to 15 years in prison, but the sentence could be reduced if Mr Prakash provides “serious information” on the inner workings of IS.
“In the Turkish criminal code [the mandatory sentence for] membership in a terrorist organisation is between five and ten years. But there’s a possibility for that sentence to be increased by half,” Mr Davran said.
“If he (Prakash) really provides serious information about IS, depending on the situation, he could receive a lesser sentence.”
