Neil Christopher Prakash, 27, who is accused of being a senior militant for Daesh, told a Turkish court that he regrets joining the terrorist group and claimed he tried to leave when he saw its "true face." Once the most wanted Australian Daesh militant, Prakash was captured while trying to sneak into Turkey on Oct. 24, 2016. Known by the alias "Abu Khaled al-Cambodi," Prakash has been accused at home of recruiting militants for the terrorist group.
The militant testified before a court in Kilis, the border province where he was captured, via video link from a prison in neighboring Gaziantep. Prakash said he converted to Islam when he joined Daesh and found out the true face of the group once he joined and tried to leave.
He denied allegation that he was the Australian emir for Daesh and said he was only forced to shoot a propaganda video by his superiors to threaten Australia.
Prakash said he fought the Democratic Union Party's (PYD) People's Protection Units (YPG) forces in Kobani, Syria after training in a Daesh camp in Raqqa and was injured. He said he asked his Daesh commanders to be posted to non-combat duty but his request was denied, so he fled the group six months before his capture in Turkey. He repeated his request not to be deported to Australia and asked the court to deport him to a Muslim country.
The court adjourned the hearing and ordered a Turkish translation of passport information supplied by the Interpol office in Australia. In a televised interview in May, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Prakash, originally from Melbourne, will be deported to Australia, citing the extradition treaty between the two countries, within months.
Prakash left Australia for Syria in 2013, and was believed to have been killed in an airstrike on Daesh in Mosul, Iraq last year, but had managed to survive despite being wounded. While active in the group, he appeared in several propaganda videos and magazines for the terrorist organization.
Australia accuses him of planning attacks in the country and recruitment. He is one of the militants accused of plotting an attack during Anzac Day ceremonies in 2015.