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Youssef before being deported to Syria
An Australian family has expressed sadness and anger after receiving news of the death of their teenage son, who was deported to Syria as a child, after being in an adult prison in Syria for three years.
Youssef Dahab was 11 years old when relatives who joined the ranks of the so-called Islamic State took him to Syria in 2015. Youssef was imprisoned without charge in 2019.
His family, who live in Sydney, say they are “sad and angry” that the 17-year-old has been seeking help for years.
Australia has previously said that returning its citizens from Syria is too dangerous.
It is not yet clear the circumstances or timing of death. Rights groups say he was wounded in January when Islamic State attacked a Kurdish-controlled prison in northeastern Syria in an attempt to free its fighters.
Kurdish-led forces backed by the United States fought the militants for a week, killing more than 180 people.
At the time, Youssef told his family via audio recordings that he was afraid he “could die at any time” as the fighting intensified.
“I lost a lot of blood… There are no doctors here and no one can help me,” he said.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that Youssef was among about 850 children who were detained in prison after the fall of the so-called Islamic State in 2019 because they may pose a threat.
Youssef’s family described their son as a happy and compassionate child who loves sports, school and playing with his cousins.
“Even in the recent messages we received from Youssef, he asked us to tell his mother that he loves and misses her,” they said in a statement.
His family said the former Australian government had “knowledge of Yusuf’s predicament for more than three years” before changing it in May, adding “we are not aware of any efforts made to support, care for or inquire about him”.
The family and human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Save the Children called on Australia to repatriate the women and children who remained in Syria.
Australia evacuated eight orphans in 2019, but at least 63 Australians remain stranded in Syria. Human rights organizations say that they include about 40 children.
“We have to remember that these children were brought there against their will or were born there,” Sophie McNeil of Human Rights Watch told ABC.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was seeking to confirm Yusef’s death, and that his family had been offered consular assistance.
In a statement, the department said the government remained “extremely concerned” about Australians in northeastern Syria, but that its assistance was “extremely limited” due to security risks.