(Age) A Melbourne nurse who provided medical support to militants in Syria is eligible to apply for parole after almost six years in a Victorian prison, despite doubts over whether he has modified his ideological views.
In 2014 Adam Brookman abandoned his wife and five children — when the youngest was three months old — to follow his Islamic beliefs and travel to Syria, where he lived alongside Chechen rebels who were fighting Bashar al-Assad’s government troops.
Over 12 weeks Brookman provided medical care for wounded Chechen fighters and also underwent weapons training, did stints as a guard and took part in reconnaissance missions — acts that are illegal under Australia’s foreign incursion laws.
The 45-year-old surrendered to authorities in Turkey in 2015 and returned to Australia that year, and on Wednesday he was jailed for six years and eight months.
