The Albanese government is facing fresh pressure over what it knew about Islamic State-linked Australian Tareq Kamleh after claims officials were informed of his survival years before the public learned he was alive.
Kamleh, the Perth-born doctor known as “Dr Jihad”, had been presumed dead after leaving Australia to join Islamic State in Syria.
But the 41-year-old is alive and being held in an Iraqi prison, where he is among 13 Australian men linked to the terror group seeking potential return to Australia.
A source told The Australian that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was briefed about Kamleh’s survival in 2022 and again last year, but decided to “stay out of it” and “not get involved”.
The source said federal officials were initially alerted after receiving information from US authorities.
“They knew that he was alive, I told them in 2022,” the source told the Australian.
“Less than a year ago, DFAT received a second, definitive confirmation from officials stating that Kamleh was alive and being held in a prison.”
The source also claimed government agencies had been aware of concerns involving Kamleh’s children.
“It was their secret until today, they decided not to get involved when me and organisations like the Red Cross pleaded for Tareq’s young boys to be rescued. They wanted to stay out of it.”
The revelations have intensified political pressure on Labor, with the opposition demanding the government explain what action was taken after being alerted to Kamleh’s whereabouts.
Shadow foreign affairs spokesman Ted O’Brien said the government’s priority should be protecting Australians from those who travelled overseas to support Islamic State.
“This is a person who chose a life of hate over the Australian people. He is against our country; he is against our way of life. We don’t want him back in our country,” he told Sky News First Edition on Wednesday.
“This is a person who has encouraged other people to go and kill; that is not a doctor who saves lives, that is a doctor who encourages death. We don’t want him here.”
The government has argued its ability to prevent Kamleh returning is limited, with Environment Minister Murray Watt saying existing powers could not simply be expanded.
“There are limits around what governments can do, but certainly anyone who returns to Australia who’s been part of these sorts of organisations will face the full force of the law,” Senator Watt said on Wednesday.
The Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke previously said the legal threshold for Temporary Exclusion Orders could not be lowered following High Court decisions.
Kamleh’s father Imad said he only discovered his son was alive after a recent phone call from a Red Cross representative.
He had spent years believing his only son had died while fighting for Islamic State.
Mr Kamleh said his family remained devastated by his son’s decision to abandon his life in Australia and join the terror group.
“His mum is still very, very upset and very angry. She will never forget it, I’ll never forget it,” he told the Australian.
“Our only son, he had graduated and become a professional, he could have been useful in helping the community. And then suddenly, from one day to the other, we’re in this situation.”
He said he had not realised his son was developing extremist beliefs before leaving Australia.
“I didn’t pick up the things. I was very naive. If I would have known I would have tried to speak to him, to explain to him the silliness of his decision,” Mr Kamleh said.
Mr Kamleh said he understood why the government may not want his son to return and will accept whatever decision authorities make.
“Whatever the Australian government decides for him, that’s fine,” he said.