Lawyers of Aussie teen stranded in Syria launch appeal against cancelled passport

Lawyers for an Australian teenager stranded in Syria will file for an appeal on Monday against the decision by local authorities to cancel the boy's passport.

The 19-year-old Muslim convert left Toowoomba in central Queensland state in March 2015 under the guise of doing aid work in Indonesian, instead travelling to Syria and reportedly joining the al-Qaida's affiliate the al-Nursa Front for protection while giving aid to the war torn region.

"I'm not part of al-Qaida, I've never joined a rebel group. I'm an aid worker," 19-year-old (then 18) Oliver Bridgeman told Australian media last year.

However, Australian authorities see it differently, cancelling his passport last week before being told to surrender the document to the nearest consular post in Turkey, despite now not having any legal way to re-enter turkey following the cancellation of his passport.

Bridgeman's Lawyer Alex Jones claims the Australian government has provided no evidence that he poses a threat to anyone in Australia despite authorities saying he would likely to engage in conduct that might prejudice the security of Australia or a foreign country.

"As far as we're aware, there's no allegation that he's done anything untoward or anything illegal whatsoever," Jones told Australia's national broadcaster.

"Without any allegation that he's done anything untoward, we simply can't understand this decision."

Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she would not comment on individual cases or security or intelligence matters.

The teen had been planning to return back to Australia when his passport was cancelled, relaying his plans to Australian authorities via the lawyers and his parents, Jones said.

"He told them that he would make himself available should they wish to speak with him, he told them his travel plans to return. They were well aware of everything, we were in negotiation with authorities," Jones said.

The country maintains strict policies to discourage Australians from travelling to Syria and Iraq to engage in "hostile activities", not matter which side. Endit