A Victorian man charged with providing support to Islamic State has returned to Melbourne and faced court following his voluntary surrender to Turkish authorities in July.
Father-of-five, Adam Brookman, 39, is charged with two counts of providing support to a terrorist organisation in 2014 while in Syria. He says he was carrying out humanitarian work in Syria when he was forced to work with Islamic State (ISIS) militants.
He was detained at Sydney airport on Friday after surrendering to officials in Turkey.
Mr Brookman has been charged under new anti-terror laws with knowingly providing support to IS.
The offence carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
He also faces a second charge of “performing services with the intention of supporting a person, or persons, to engage in a hostile activity in a foreign state”.
The nurse made no application for bail when he appeared briefly at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court. He was remanded in custody pending a hearing on Monday.
Police said that although there was no evidence that Mr Brookman posed a threat, they had acted to protect the community.
Brookman’s travel home from the Middle East was facilitated by Australian agencies after he turned himself in to Turkish authorities last week.
The 39-year-old appeared via video link in Parramatta bail court on Saturday, where a magistrate granted his extradition south.
Court documents outline one charge relates to Brookman knowingly providing support to Isis by undertaking guard duty and reconnaissance between April 2010 and August 2014.
