The federal government is standing by its decision to strip an alleged recruiter for Islamic State of his Australian citizenship despite speculation it has left him stateless.
Melbourne-born Prakash - who is in jail in Turkey facing terrorism charges - was notified at the weekend his citizenship had been annulled because of his connections to IS.
The government believes Prakash, 27, is a dual national as his father was Fijian.
However, the head of Fiji's Immigration Department said Prakash was not one of its citizens, the Fiji Sun newspaper reported on Tuesday.
A person with such dual status can be stripped of their Australian citizenship if they engage in terrorism-related conduct, and Islamic State was declared a terrorist organisation in 2016 for this purpose.
Neil Prakash. Source: AAP
The government cannot revoke single Australian citizenship as that would leave a person stateless.
“Neil Prakash has not been or is a Fijian citizen. He was born in Australia and has acquired Australian citizenship since birth,” he was quoted as saying.
“The Department has searched the Immigration system and confirms that he has not entered the country nor applied for citizenship since birth.”
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Prakash stripped of citizenship
However, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Immigration Minister David Coleman on Wednesday said a board of senior security and department officials had carefully considered whether Prakash was a foreign national before his citizenship was revoked and stood by the decision.
Mr Dutton said the government had been in close contact with Fiji officials since Prakash was determined to have lost his citizenship.
"Australia will continue our close cooperation with Fiji on this issue," he said in a statement.
Mr Coleman said the government had followed the process outlined in section 35 of the Citizenship Act, as it had done with nearly a dozen other people.
Islamic State terrorist and recruiter Neil Prakash has been stripped of his Australian citizenship. Source: AAP
"We've followed the law of Australia and (to) this individual the law has been applied," Mr Coleman told 2GB radio.
"As a consequence, he has lost his Australian citizenship."
Prakash has been in Turkey on trial for charges relating to being a member of Islamic State since being caught there in October 2016 after leaving Islamic State-controlled territory.
Canberra is seeking his extradition pending the outcome of his trial and any jail term he serves in Turkey. If later convicted in Australia, he would also serve time there.
