Aussie Terrorist Wants Australia To Save Him From Death Sentence in Iraq

By ZOE ZACZEK FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Sydney terrorist Ahmed Merhi has begged Australia to help him after he was sentenced to death by hanging in Iraq. 

Merhi, 27, was convicted for being a member of Islamic State in the Central Criminal Court in Baghdad.

The former Granville Boys High School student, from Sydney's west, travelled to Syria in  2014 or 2015.

Sydney terrorist Ahmed Merhi (pictured) has begged Australia to help him escape the death sentence he has been handed in Iraq

Merhi claimed he travelled to the warn-torn country for aid work but Judge Suhail rejected the claims.

The 27-year-old told News Corp he wanted to come home to Australia and argued he had been wrongly convicted.

'I'd like to go back to Australia,' he said.

Merhi said Iraq had no right to prosecute him as there was no justice and no evidence or witnesses.

'I'm a good person,' Merhi told News Corp. He pleaded for Australia to intervene despite turning his back on the country.  

Merhi claimed he travelled to the warn-torn country for aid work but Judge Suhail rejected the claims

'I'd like them to help me, by getting me justice and getting me released,' he said.

The Australian Government is not expected to take steps to assist Merhi, a high profile Australian Islamic State supporter.

He previously shared numerous photos to his social media accounts displaying weaponry and dressed in military uniform.

Merhi compared taking photos with guns to people who take photos with Ferraris - arguing it doesn't mean you own them. In another comparison Merhi said taking a photo with a model didn't mean it is your wife.

The 27-year-old told News Corp he wanted to come home to Australia and argued he had been wrongly convicted

Merhi was arrested by Kurdish soldiers in December 2017 when he was trying to escape to Turkey.

He was given to American troops who took him across the boarder and passed him on to Iraqi authorities. 

Merhi, who lost a leg in an air strike in 2016, complained about torture at the hands of Iraqi counter-terrorism officials but a medical examination found no marks of torture.

Within ten days Merhi's case will be automatically appealed and his lawyers have 30 days to present to an appeals court. The former Sydney builder could wait up to two years to have his case finalised.

Merhi was arrested alongside his cousin Tarek Khayat who is accused by Lebanese and Australian authorities of plotting to bring down an Etihad Airways flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi.

Merhi was arrested by Kurdish soldiers in December 2017 when he was trying to escape to Turkey

Khayat, 46, admitted to being a financial officer for the terror group Islamic State in Raqqa, Syria, and was ordered to face death by hanging.

Australian police allege Merhi was involved with extremists in Australia who were involved in a number of terror plots.

This included the murder of police accountant Curtis Cheng who was shot dead after he left work in Parramatta, Sydney, by a 15-year-old.

The teenager, Farhad Mohamad Jabar, was shot by police.

Merhi said his cousin's case was starting from scratch following investigation from the appeals court and hoped the same would happen with his case. 

I wonder how many people he killed? How many girls he raped and enslaved? It was all fun and games, until it wasn't. I wonder what his problem is; doesn't he get to go to paradise with 72 virgins waiting for him there? Why would Australia want to rob him of that?