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Neil Christopher Prakash (born 7 May 1991), known as Abu Khaled al-Cambodi ( ar, أبو خالد الكمبودي), is a former member of the
Islamic State An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
group, whose Australian citizenship was revoked in December 2018. In April 2016, four civilians were killed in a United States air-strike targeting Prakash. In May 2016, he was reported to have been killed, but was only wounded and escaped. In November 2016, Prakash was captured in Turkey. In March 2019, Prakash was convicted in a Turkish court of membership in a terrorist organisation and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, reduced to six years on appeal. In early December 2022 he was extradited back to Australia, first to Darwin, then Melbourne where he was charged with terrorism-related offences.


History

Prakash was born in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
to an
Indo-Fijian Indo-Fijians or Indian-Fijians (also known as Fiji Indians) are Fijian citizens of Indian descent, and include people who trace their ancestry to various regions of the Indian subcontinent.Girmit by Suresh Prasad Although Indo-Fijians constitu ...
father and a Cambodian mother from the south-east suburb of Springvale South. He attended high school at Cheltenham Secondary College. Prakash converted from
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
to
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
in August 2012 after a visit to Cambodia, when he was repulsed by what he viewed as
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
's commercialism and idolatry. He attended meetings at Al-Furqan bookstore and prayer centre in Melbourne. On 29 December 2018, the Australian government announced it had revoked Prakash's Australian citizenship due to his links to terrorism. Although Australia maintains that he retains Fijian citizenship despite being born in Melbourne, in 2019, the Fijian government refused to allow him to go there, insisting he was not and had never been a Fijian citizen.
Peter Dutton Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian politician who has been leader of the opposition and leader of the Liberal Party since May 2022. He has represented the Queensland seat of Dickson in the House of Representatives sinc ...
did not consult with Fiji or an expert in Fijian law before making the decision to revoke Prakash's Australian citizenship, and Fiji does not allow dual citizenship.


Islamic State

He traveled to
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
via
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
in 2013, arriving in the city of
Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish languages, Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. T ...
.


Arrest warrant

Prakash's passport was cancelled October 2014. On 19 August 2015, police obtained a warrant for his arrest. He was accused of being a member of a terrorist organisation and of incursions into a foreign state with the intention of engaging in hostile activities.


IS media appearances

Prakash appeared in a video released 21 April 2015 titled "Stories From the Land of the Living: Abū Khālid al-Kambūdī" produced by al-Hayat Media Center.


Reports of death

On 5 May 2016, Attorney-General for Australia
George Brandis George Henry Brandis (born 22 June 1957) is a former Australian politician. He was a Senator for Queensland from 2000 to 2018, representing the Liberal Party, and was a cabinet minister in the Abbott and Turnbull governments. He was later Hi ...
said US officials had confirmed Prakash was killed in
Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...
, but later news reports said police and intelligence agencies believed he might still be alive. It was later discovered that Prakash had been wounded in a strike, and then escaped to Syria. Then on 29 July 2016, the
United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Tas ...
said four civilians had been killed in a strike targeting Prakash on 29 April 2016.


Capture

In November 2016, Prakash was captured in Turkey after he tried to cross the Syrian border into Turkey using false documents and a fake name. On 25 November 2016, Australian counter-terrorism officials confirmed that Prakash was still alive and had been arrested several weeks previously by Turkish officials in Turkey. Australia applied for his extradition on a Federal Police warrant for: In May 2017, Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...
announced that Prakash was expected to be extradited from Turkey in months to stand trial in Australia. In December 2018, Prakash was waiting on trial in Turkey on terrorism charges.


Conviction

On 16 March 2019, Prakash was convicted in a Turkish court of membership in a terrorist organisation and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. In early December 2022 he was extradited back to Darwin. He was then extradited to Melbourne and charged in
Melbourne Magistrates' Court The Melbourne Magistrates' Court is the largest venue at which the Magistrates' Court of Victoria sits. It is a court in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia that deals with, and dispenses of, a range of criminal and civil matters, including crimin ...
with terrorism-related offences. Prakash is due to reappear in court in late February 2023.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prakash, Neil 1991 births Living people Australian Islamists Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members from Australia Australian people of Indo-Fijian descent Australian people of Cambodian descent Converts to Islam from Buddhism People who lost Australian citizenship Fijian Muslims Stateless people Terrorism in Australia People from Springvale, Victoria Criminals from Melbourne