The former paediatric registrar says he doesn’t intend to return to Australia and has no qualms about the cancellation of his medical registration

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

An Australian doctor who left the country to join Isis and is now wanted by the federal police on several terrorism-related charges, has stated he has “no concerns” if he is stripped of his citizenship and medical registration, and that he no longer considers himself an Australian.

Tareq Kamleh, 29, came to the attention of authorities when he appeared in an Islamic State propaganda video in April, urging other medical professionals to join him. Kamleh has worked as a doctor in several Australian states and is believed to have left for Syria in March.

He is wanted by the Australian federal police (AFP) on several charges, including joining a terrorist organisation, recruiting for a terrorist organisation, and being in a “declared area” under government legislation recently introduced to target people travelling overseas to fight alongside Islamic State.

Police have stated that under the warrant Kamleh would be immediately arrested if he returned to Australia.

In a post on his Facebook page on Sunday, Kamleh wrote an open letter to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), which recently began moves to strip Kamleh of his medical registration.

Dear AHPRA, 1. I have no concern if you cancel my registration 2. I have no concern if you cancel my passport 3. I knew where I was coming 4. I intend to stay here 5. I anticipated an arrest warrant, hence why I left in secret 6. None of the case you put forward has indicated to me a malicious character on my behalf and it is this injustice within the Australian judicial system that was a catalyst for me to leave. Do as you please, I no longer consider myself an Australian, The continuous bombing of civillian targets here by the coalition has done nothing but disappoint me of the country I once loved so much Regards, Tareq Kamleh

Kamleh, a former paediatric registrar, has spoken publicly since joining Isis, responding to media reports that he had been a drinker and a womaniser and denying he had “ever taken part in unprofessional conduct which would have jeopardised my doctor-patient relationship”.

“I made a very well-educated and calculated decision to come here, it did not involve any brainwashing,” he said.

“I have come here as there are locals suffering from normal medical conditions despite being surrounded by war, with an overt lack of qualified medical care.”

A spokeswoman for AHPRA and the Medical Board of Australia confirmed the board has proposed to suspend Kamleh, whose registration expires in August this year.

“The board has the power to take immediate action to manage serious risk to public health and safety,” she said in a statement.

“By law, taking ‘immediate action’ is a three-step process. It involves a board decision to propose to restrict registration in some way, an opportunity for the practitioner to respond, and then a final decision by the board.”

Kamleh was the fourth Australian subject to an arrest warrant over their involvement in the conflict in Syria and Iraq. Mohamed Elomar and Khaled Sharrouf, are both alleged to be involved in combat, but Mohammad Baryalei, an alleged senior recruiter for Isis, is believed to have been killed in October.

Matthew Gardiner, the former president of the Northern Territory Labor party who left Australia in January and is alleged to have joined Kurdish forces fighting against Isis, was detained by the AFP upon his return to Darwin in April, but released without charge.