Patrick Stevenson, a 20-year-old Gold Coast man detained for nearly seven months in north-western Syria, faces a possible death sentence for the alleged shooting murder of another Australian — and his family says the federal government has failed to make meaningful progress on the case. Syrian authorities charged Stevenson with premeditated murder after Abdullah Glen Charles Burgess, 40, from northern New South Wales, was shot dead in his home in Darkush, Idlib province, on December 31. The alleged confession, which Syrian officials say includes admitting to firing at least eight shots from an AK-47, hasn't been independently verified. No Australian official has visited Stevenson in prison, attended his court hearings, or assessed his welfare.
Government's Limited Capacity
Stevenson's mother, Angela Bell, told the ABC's 7.30 program that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has offered little more than excuses. "They say … that their policy is that he shouldn't have been travelling to Syria … and that's where the conversation gets stuck," she said. "They use the word 'limited' a lot. They don't use the word failure, but basically the sense is they … have limited capacity to help in this situation." The ABC understands Australia has made representations about Stevenson's case, but DFAT told his family last month that the Syrian government had shown little engagement. Correspondence seen by the ABC shows the department repeatedly told the family it could not obtain information from Syrian authorities and had no access to the country's detention facilities. Australia has no embassy or consulate in Syria, severely limiting the consular assistance it can provide.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday that Australia was providing support to both families. "Legal processes will take their course overseas, of course, and that is appropriate," he said. "I feel for the family of the person who's lost their life, and we're connected to them and providing support for them. We're also providing support for the family of the man who's been charged." Canberra has struggled to establish relations with Syria's new government, unlike allies including the United States and France. Australia continues to impose sanctions on Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the militant group from which Syria's new leadership emerged, and lists it as a terrorist organisation.
Confession Under Question
Stevenson's Australian lawyer, Bernadette Zaydan, said the alleged confession raised alarm bells because it's unclear how it was obtained. "Was it given under duress? Was it given in writing? Was it given orally?" she said. "We have grave concerns for his welfare." Bell said no paperwork has come from Syria explaining the charges. "There's no paperwork, there's no access to Patrick," she said. Last week, Stevenson's father, Clay, travelled to Syria carrying his son's Australian medical records and a psychiatric report for the court. He visited Stevenson in Sarmada prison and attended a court hearing on Sunday — the first time a member of the family had seen him since he secretly left Australia in October. His parents say his mental health has deteriorated severely in detention.
Stevenson has learning disorders, ADHD and probable autism spectrum disorder, according to a 2025 psychiatric report. He travelled to Syria late last year and came to the attention of counterterrorism police after becoming radicalised, an ABC investigation has established. Zaydan urged the federal government to press for Stevenson to receive a transparent trial before an independent court, rather than one associated with Syria's administration or armed forces.
The Radicalisation Path
Stevenson left Australia on a flight to Bali on October 10 before travelling to Syria. His parents said they had no idea he had left the country. "I was shocked to find out that he was there," Clay Stevenson said. "It's just like, 'Wow, what's going through his head to be in Syria and who helped him get there?'" The family said they discovered he was overseas only after officers from the Queensland Police Security and Counter-Terrorism Command contacted them. His parents said officers searched his bedroom at his father's home and questioned them about extremist material he had allegedly posted in a group chat. "He was talking to someone in a group chat that the Australian government were investigating and Patrick had come up as peripheral to another investigation," Bell said. She said ASIO later questioned her about her son's associations on the Gold Coast.
Stevenson converted to Islam during his final year of high school in 2023, according to his family. By last year, he was showing signs of radicalisation, including sharing speeches by Anwar al-Awlaki, the US-born Al Qaeda cleric and propagandist killed in a US drone strike in Yemen in 2011. He also volunteered with Muslim Youth GC (MYGC), a youth group connected to the Worongary Mosque on the Gold Coast. The group's leader, Abdul Rahman Nasiri, said neither it nor any other local organisation had supported Stevenson's journey and he was free to make his own choices.
The Victim and Legal Process
The ABC has established that Burgess was a tree lopper from the village of Eltham, near Lismore, who spent months in Afghanistan before settling in Syria last year with his Australian wife and their daughters. According to Syrian authorities, Burgess was shot dead in his home while his wife and daughters were in another room. Shahz Rana, a former president of the North Coast Muslim Association, said Burgess was "a very soft-spoken, gentle sort of guy." Rana said Burgess told community members in about 2024 that his family was moving to Malaysia to live in a Muslim community and learn more about the faith. He was unaware the family had spent at least six months travelling through Taliban-ruled Afghanistan before moving to Darkush, near Syria's border with Türkiye.
DFAT advised Stevenson's family that Syrian authorities initially treated the shooting as an accident. They later investigated whether he was affiliated with the Islamic State terrorist group. According to information provided to the family, that investigation ended in February when authorities referred the case to the civilian criminal courts as a murder prosecution, rather than as a terrorism case. The prosecution is likely to test Syria's fractured legal system as the country attempts to rebuild its institutions after 14 years of civil war. Syrian legal sources told the ABC that it could take up to a year for the court to reach a verdict. Any death sentence imposed by an ordinary criminal court would have to be reviewed by the Court of Cassation, considered by a clemency committee and approved by Syria's president before it could be carried out.
People who knew the two men said Burgess took Stevenson under his wing and that they became close before the shooting. Stevenson's fate may ultimately rest with a third Australian: Burgess's widow, Amatullah Laurie Duniam. Under the Syrian legal system, she could spare him execution by granting forgiveness, potentially in exchange for a payment of blood money, known as diya. Duniam and other members of Burgess's family declined to speak to the ABC.
Why This Matters:
This case exposes the limits of government power when citizens make catastrophically poor choices. Stevenson's decision to travel to a war-torn nation with no Australian diplomatic presence has left his family — and taxpayers funding consular services — dealing with consequences that were entirely preventable. The federal government's inability to secure basic access to an Australian citizen facing execution raises questions about whether diplomatic sanctions against Syria's new leadership serve national interests when Australians' lives are at stake. The case also highlights the ongoing threat of radicalisation within Australian communities, despite domestic counterterrorism efforts. That Stevenson travelled to Syria after coming to the attention of Queensland police and ASIO suggests gaps in monitoring or intervention protocols. The prosecution will test whether Syria's fractured legal system, rebuilt after 14 years of civil war, can deliver anything resembling due process — a concern that should inform Australia's broader engagement strategy with Damascus.