Labor issues blunt message for Adelaide-trained ‘Dr Jihad’
The federal government says no assistance will be provided to “Doctor Jihad” amid reports the Australian is planning to return home.
The Labor government has reaffirmed it will not assist a citizen who joined Islamic State as he attempts to return to Australia.
Pediatrician Tareq Kamleh, colloquially known as “Doctor Jihad”, travelled to Syria in 2015 to join the terror organisation.
He was assumed to have been killed in 2017 but recent reports suggest Kamleh is still alive in an Iraqi prison.
Kamleh is wanted by the Australian Federal Police under an active warrant for terrorism offences, which include joining and recruiting for a banned organisation.
The Australian newspaper reported on Thursday that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was made aware Kamleh was alive on two occasions, in 2022 and 2025, but decided not to take action.
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Kamleh’s father said he was only told his son was alive via a phone call from a Red Cross representative several weeks ago, according to the newspaper.
It has been revealed Kamleh is one-of-13 men linked to the terror group who are imprisoned in Iraq and want to return to Australia.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he was not involved in any relevant briefings and could not confirm how long Labor was aware of Kamleh’s condition.
“The government hasn’t and won’t be providing any assistance to any Australian who made the choice to join a terrorist organisation,” Chalmers told ABC Radio National on Thursday.
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“We’ve been really clear that for some individuals in this cohort, returning to Australia would mean facing the full force of the law.”
Fellow senior minister Murray Watt said the government faced constitutional limitations on preventing Kamleh from returning.
But shadow home affairs minister Jonathon Duniam said the government should have shared information about Kamleh with the public and made efforts to prevent the man’s return earlier.
“As a citizen, Dr Kamleh has the right to return to Australia. I personally, and my party have grave concerns of that,” Duniam told ABC Radio National.
“My invitation to the government is work with us. Now there must be ways, there must be means.”
Senator Duniam has proposed a temporary exclusion order to stop Kamleh re-entering the country.
Kamleh studied medicine at the University of Adelaide before further training at Royal Adelaide Hospital and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
His registration was suspended in 2015 after he appeared in an Islamic State video that featured a premature baby.
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