Australia cancels passport of Queensland teen stuck in Syria

UPDATE: March 3, 2016, 5:21 p.m. AEDT -- On Thursday, the Australian Federal Police issued an arrest warrant for Oliver Bridgeman's arrest. He is charged with entering a foreign country "with the intention of engaging in hostile activities," the AFP said in a statement.

UPDATE: Feb. 28, 2016, 2:57 p.m. AEDT with DFAT statement.

An Australian teenager who travelled to Syria has had his passport cancelled by the government, according to his lawyer.

Oliver Bridgeman, from Toowoomba in Queensland, was reported missing by his parents in March 2015 after they thought he was spending time in Bali. Instead, the teenager journeyed on to war-torn Syria where his lawyer said he had been engaged in humanitarian work.

Alex Jones of Bosscher Lawyers said in a statement Bridgeman was in the process of returning home when his passport was cancelled and he was told to surrender it at the nearest consulate in Turkey.

"The Australian Government has stranded a Queensland teenager in a foreign country," Jones said.

"The Australian Government has stranded a Queensland teenager in a foreign country," Jones said. "This has happened at a time when Mr Bridgeman was organising to come home and had been communicating and fully co-operating with authorities."

Bridgeman, who is 19 according to the Brisbane Times, claims to have been working with an organisation called Live Updates, which, according to its Facebook page, is "a frontline aid organisation" in Syria. On Saturday, Live Updates posted it was "extremely disappointed" about the government's treatment of Bridgeman. 

"No matter what the Australian government say or do, they know that I'm here to help humanity and especialy [sic] the people of Syria," Bridgeman wrote on his Facebook page Friday. In June, he posted that he was not associated with or fighting for any terrorist organisation.

On Thursday, Bridgeman posted a video detailing some of his recent humanitarian work with Syrian refugees.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton defended the government's decision, telling ABC News those who travel to Syria put Australia's military staff and personnel at risk. 

"People who go off into conflict zones — even if they're well intentioned — ultimately can cause significant grief and stress for their own families," he said."This is something people should contemplate before they go — not when they're in the middle of a conflict zone."

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Mashable Australia the agency was aware an individual who has allegedly been in Syria may be seeking to return to Australia, but could not comment on their passport status for privacy reasons

"The Government has consistently discouraged Australians from travelling to Syria and Iraq to participate in hostile activities," he said. "It is standard practice to provide Australians who have had their passports cancelled while overseas a temporary travel document to enable them to return to Australia."

The government has the power to cancel an Australian passport when a person "might prejudice the security of Australia or a foreign country."

Jones said the decision was extremely distressing for the teenager's parents. "His parents have co-operated with authorities during their son's time in Syria and are devastated that he now has no means of returning home to them," he said.

He added that an appeal would be lodged on Monday, Feb. 29.

The Department of Immigration has been contacted for comment.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.