Australian attempt to strip Daesh recruiter of citizenship hits snag

Australia's plan to strip a Daesh recruiter of his citizenship stalled on Wednesday after Fiji said he wasn't one of their citizens.

Canberra said it's in contact with Fiji after it said it had stripped Melbourne-born Neil Prakash of his citizenship, thinking he was also a citizen of the small Pacific nation.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said Prakash ceased to be an Australian citizen "by virtue of his actions in fighting for Islamic State [Daesh] from May 2016," and he had been notified of the decision in December.

Canberra claimed the locally-born Australian was a dual national because his father was Fijian. However, the Fiji Sun newspaper quoted Director of Immigration Nemani Vuniwaqa on Tuesday as saying Prakash was not a Fijian citizen, which could complicate the Australian government's decision.

Australian law allows for dual citizens to be stripped of their citizenship if they are involved in groups the government has deemed to be terrorist organisations. However, citizenship cannot be revoked if that would leave a person stateless.

Prakash is in Turkey on trial for charges relating to being a member of Daesh after being caught there in October 2016.