A fugitive facing a life sentence has pleaded be allowed out of Afghanistan rather than live under the Taliban, reports say.
Saied 'Sam' Hussaini, 32, is willing to face life behind bars to flee the group as he desperately tries to escape Kabul.
Afghans are facing a race against time to fly out from Kabul airport after the Taliban refused to extend the deadline for foreign troops to leave.
Hussaini fled the country to Afghanistan after being accused of murdering his friend Dejan Dimitrovsk, 36, in Perth, Western Australia.
Reports by 9News said it is believed the victim was tortured before being killed over a drug debt and a judge told a court he is suspected of being the ring leader of a gang responsible for the attack.
Jeremy Noble, his legal representative, has been trying to get his client past the thousands of people trying to get inside the airport and escape the country.
He said: "All Australian citizens are entitled to the safety that they deserve by right of their citizenship," he said.
"This man will face due process when he comes back to Australia."
Four men are reported to have gone on trial at the Supreme Court of Western Australia charged with the murder of Mr Dimitrovsk.
Two were sentenced to nine and 10 years' jail for manslaughter, with a third jailed for four years for being an accessory after the fact, and the fourth man acquitted.
In February, the court was told fifth man, who was nicknamed "AK" due to a tattoo he had of an AK47 firearm on his head, had fled overseas.
Justice Anthony Derrick said that Hussaini was the alleged instigator of the violent attack on Mr Dimitrovski and had fled Australia.
He is still a suspect for the unlawful killing of Mr Dimitrovski," the judge said as he passed sentence on those convicted.
Hussaini, who has dual nationality, is reported to have been cleared through the heavily guarded airport gates and is said to be waiting a for an evacuation flight.
But lawyer Glenn Kolomeitz, who is helping Afghans and dual nationals escape the capital, said the fugitive wasn’t home and dry yet.
There are a couple of dual nationals who got stuck in the country when the situation deteriorated and are destroying passports and any documents which identify them.
He said: "So you can’t discard the possibility that the Taliban would target these people because they’re now Australian citizens or permanent residents.”
Mr Kolomeitz, however, wasn’t surprised Hussaini wanted to flee.
He said: "I can say with some certainty, life in prison in Australia and facing the Australian justice system would be far preferable to facing Taliban justice – if I can use that term – and facing a life under a Taliban regime.”
