A violent offender who tattooed Islamic State on his forearm has aborted his parole application in a NSW court.
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Issam Alam, 32, unexpectedly announced to a State Parole Authority hearing on Tuesday that he was withdrawing his application for immediate release.
"Alam was contesting an order to have him remain in prison until the end of his sentence when he told the SPA panel and his legal representative that he wished to withdraw from the proceedings," the authority said in a statement.
"He then removed himself from the AVL (video link) room."
Alam was applying to be granted immediate parole ahead of his sentence ending on May 26, when he must be released.
He is serving a two-year-and-one-month term for a string of offences including assaulting police and leading them on a car chase.
Alam last week had a win in the Supreme Court when the attorney-general's application to have him placed on a three-year supervision order when released under the Terrorism (High Risk Offenders) Act was dismissed.
The court heard Alam had been in jail almost continuously over the past decade for driving, firearm and assault offences.
Justice Helen Wilson said that given his history he was "highly likely" to reoffend and she described him as a "dangerous menace".
However, the judge declined the application because she said it wasn't proven he was at high risk of committing a terrorism offence.
NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman said he was seeking advice and considering appealing the decision.
The Crown applied to have Alam placed on a close supervision order based on Alam's long criminal history and what it said were his links to Islamic State and violent extremist ideologies.
Alam disavowed having links to terrorism despite having "Da'ish" or "Daesh" - a name commonly used to refer to Islamic State - tattooed on his right forearm in Arabic script.
He told a psychologist he got the tattoo "after a dare from a friend" and had since altered the D to an R so it no longer had the same meaning.
In December 2018, police received a photograph of Alam with a raised index finger - a gesture known as "tawhid" or "oneness of God" - which has been co-opted by violent jihadists.
He is also a known friend of terrorist Talal Alameddin, who is serving a 14-year sentence for providing the gun used to kill NSW Police employee Curtis Cheng.
However, Alam stated they were just friends and had never discussed ideology or politics.
Australian Associated Press
