According to a Lebanese court dossier an Australian teenager jailed in Lebanon on charges of trying to join Islamic State has allegedly told interrogators that he was radicalised in Australia by a charity.
The Sydney-based charity has allegedly been the subject of suspicion by both Australian and Lebanese authorities and the claims were revealed in court documents from Lebanon.
Isaak el Matari, 19, is currently incarcerated in a notorious Roumieh after authorities accusing him of trying to find passage into Syria,ABC News reported.
He is expected to be deported to Australia in the coming days.
Isaak Ul Matari, 19, has alleged he was encouraged to join ISIS by a Sydney based charity already under suspicion, according to court documents
The court documents show that during interrogation Mr Matari said he was allegedly encouraged to join ISIS in Syria by a Sydney based charity.
Authorities have accused a number of the charities members of ‘fundraising and recruiting’ for Islamic state.
According to the ABC, Mr Matari has recently been transported from Roumieh jail and is expected to be deported to Australia.
The charity itself is designed to raise money for Syrian refugees.
Lebanese authorties also accus of planning to become a suicide bomber in Lebanon or travelling to Syria to fight for ISIS
The former Australian schoolboy is also accused by Lebanese authorities of preparing a suicide bomb attack.
Originally from Blacktown in Sydney’s west, Mr Ul Matari was educated at the Australian Islamic College and prayed at Rooty Hill Mosque.
A man at the family home said things were ‘very tense’ and ‘everyone is fully aware of the situation’.
Neighbours said Mr Ul Matari was friendly but could occasionally be heard arguing with his parents.
‘But every teenager does that… I never saw anything like [extremism],’ a neighbour said.
The former Australian schoolboy is also accused by Lebanese authorities of preparing a suicide bomb attack (stock image)
‘He was always a polite young kid. That’s a bloody shock.’
From prison, Mr Ul Matari said he he been receiving visits from the Australian embassy in Lebanon and he is expected to be deported within days.
According to Lebanese sources, Australian intelligence officials had been in Lebanon this month collecting Mr Ul Matari’s police file.
He was 18 when he was arrested in 2017 in Tripoli.
The ISF said the teenager was born in Lebanon in 1999 but had lived in Australia.
According to the court dossier, Lebanese authorities claim he became radicalised in Australia after watching ISIS videos online.
Mr Ul Matari travelled to Lebanon on an Australian passport, and was monitored by ISF.
According to the court dossier he has been accused of downloading how to make bombs and videos of ISIS assassinations from the internet (stock image)
In August, Mr Ul Matari posted a photo of himself wearing Islamic clothing and squatting next to a sheep which had its throat cut.
According to the court dossier he has been accused of downloading how to make bombs and videos of ISIS assassinations from the internet.
The ISF allege Mr Ul Matari contacted an ISIS cadre in Syria and was willing to ‘carry out a suicide or explosive operation in Lebanon’.
‘He…was convinced of the idea of jihad, and the implementation of suicide operations in favour of Daesh, and to this end, through the internet, downloaded the encyclopedias on how to manufacture explosives, and many videos about previous assassinations carried out,’ ISF claimed.
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