SYDNEY, April 1 (Xinhua) -- A 26-year-old man from Sydney is pleading with the Australian government for him and his family to be allowed to back home after traveling to Syria to join the Islamic State (IS) in 2015.
Fairfax Media reported on Monday that Mohammed Noor Masri said he initially didn't realize the extent of the groups' brutality and he traveled to Syria for religious reasons.
He denied ever engaging in fighting and said that he worked at a hospital before surrendering to Kurdish forces following the fall of the IS stronghold, Baghouz, one month ago.
Masri has appealed for him, his pregnant wife and three children to be allowed back to Australia where he said he is prepared to face the consequences of his actions.
"(I feel) remorseful, regretful. I mean, people make mistakes. And you have to pay the price for your mistake," Masri said.
"I would prefer to be prosecuted in Australia or under international law because you have things such as human rights and ... justice, so that would be the preferred option."
Professor of constitutional law at the University of New South Wales Dr Sangeetha Pillai told Xinhua that legislation passed in 2015 could pose a barrier to that.
"We did introduce citizenship-stripping legislation that's designed to remove the citizenship of people who have engaged in conduct like fighting for terrorist groups overseas and it's very possible that a person like this would find themselves in that category," Pillai said.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has maintained a hardline against IS recruits wishing to return home, telling reporters on Monday "I'm not going to put one Australian life at risk to try and extract people from these dangerous situations."
"I think it's appalling that Australians have gone and fought against our values and our way of life and peace-loving countries of the world in joining the Daesh fight. I think it's even more despicable that they put their children in the middle of it," Morrison said.
However, the solution may be more complicated than simply closing the borders.
"Under international law, every person has a nationality like a primary country of connection that they're entitled to," Pillai said.
This means that currently under the Australian law, citizenship cannot be revoked if that action will leave the person stateless -- meaning only if they are a dual citizen can Australia revoke citizenship.
Aside from the legal and moral imperatives to repatriate Australian citizens, some believe that from a global security standpoint, ex-IS members could be more dangerous if they are cut off by their home nations, who otherwise would have the opportunity to monitor and possibly rehabilitate them.
"Anybody that comes back to Australia having fought overseas is going to be either charged with a criminal offense that carries very long terms of imprisonment, or is subject to incredible scrutiny by intelligence agencies, or both," Pillai said.
"It's arguable from a global security point of view that (this is) the preferable and safer option to leaving people stranded where their only connection is a terrorist (group)."
