'Pure evil on Earth': Former Australian commando Heston Russell issues harrowing reminder over ‘ISIS bride’ saga
“These are ideologically addicted people, they are fanatical, they have no care for life. I’ve been exposed to a lot of death and destruction in my time, but these people trade in it on the daily. They were executing women and children, cutting them in half and stringing them up off buildings, off street poles. They believe that their way of life, their extremist Sunni way of life, was the only one and would destroy anyone and everything in the most horrific way.”Mr Russell added that he personally could not understand how Australian citizens entering the Islamic State fold did not amount to a crime.
“I don’t understand how any Australian citizen going to a known war zone and interacting with – let alone living with, let alone taking children to be associated with – known terrorist individuals and organisations is not a crime that sees them incarcerated as soon as they come to Australia,” he said.
“If there’s not legislation being passed to rectify that, then I believe our government’s not doing its job.
“Secondly ... this ideology is so fanatical, so brutal, so evil that any perceived risk to the Australian public has to come first.
“They need to be assessed and (put) through a process whereby we are ascertaining if they haven’t been indoctrinated, if they’re not radicalised, if they don’t require this rehabilitation far before we’re talking about what school they're going to go to in Victoria or New South Wales.”