Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared he has ‘absolutely zero sympathy’ for the latest cohort of ISIS brides to return to Australia.
Four women linked to ISIS fighters, along with eight children, touched down in Melbourne and Sydney on Thursday night, almost two weeks after leaving the Al-Roj detention camp in northeastern Syria.
Three of the four women were arrested by Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers upon arrival and later charged.
Grandmother Kawsar Abbas, 54, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmed, 31, have been charged with slavery-related offences while her eldest daughter Janai Safar, 32, has been charged with terrorism-related offences.
Albanese defended his government’s handling of their return on Friday.
‘One of the things that divides our society from the lawless barbarity of ISIS is we believe in the rule of law and that means if you are an Australian citizen, you have some entitlements,’ he told reporters.
‘We provided no support for these people. They were not brought back. It is correct that the US government and others urged us to do so.
‘But we chose to make our own decisions as a sovereign state and not to provide them with any support, because I have absolutely zero sympathy for these people.’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured) has declared he has ‘absolutely zero sympathy’ for the latest cohort of ISIS brides to return to Australia
Janai Safar (above), was charged with entering or remaining in declared areas, and being a member of a terrorist organisation following her arrest at Sydney Airport on Thursday night
However, Albanese did express sympathy for the children, who he described as victims of the ill-advised decisions of their parents.
‘It is appropriate they undergo support, children who were subject and exposed to all sorts of horrors in those camps,’ he continued.
‘Those camps with a big presence of ISIS, and that terrible, horrific ideology which seeks to destroy our way of life.’
Albanese said he is confident that appropriate action will be taken by authorities, adding that three of the women were ‘in the clink’.
‘I have faith in our authorities, in the Australian Federal Police, in ASIO, in ASIS, in all of our security agencies,’ he said.
‘Australian citizens do have rights, but we have a right as a government to ensure the law is upheld and these people will face the full force of the law.’
The women were held in customs for hours before Abbas and Zeinab were arrested by AFP officers and charged on Friday morning.
Abbas was charged with four crimes against humanity including slavery charges, including keeping and using a slave, and engaging in the slave trade.
Zahra Ahmad was the only one of four ISIS brides to not be arrested upon landing in Australia on Thursday night
Kawsar Abbas, 54, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmed, 31, will spend the weekend in custody after they were arrested upon arrival in Melbourne and later charged
These offences carry a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment.
Police will allege Abbas travelled to Syria in 2014 with her husband and children, and was complicit in the purchase of a female slave for US$10,000 and knowingly kept the woman in her home.
Ahmed faces two slavery charges. Both offences carry a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment. She travelled to Syria in 2014 with her family and is accused of knowingly keeping a female slave at her home.
Zeinab later appeared in court wearing a black hijab.
They were both remanded in custody until Monday, when they will apply for bail.
The mother and daughter pair have hired high-profile criminal lawyers Bill Doogue and Maya George to represent them.
Lawyer Bill Doogue (left), is seen leaving the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday
Zahra Ahmed made no comment to reporters as she was whisked through the airport terminal
Mr Doogue defended convicted triple-killer Erin Patterson in last year’s mushroom murder trial.
Zahra Ahmad was allowed to walk free without charge and was shielded from the media by a large group of men dressed in black as she left Melbourne Airport on a shuttle bus.
The latest cohort travelled to Australia with Janai Safar, 32, and her nine-year-old son, who were escorted off the plane by AFP officers shortly after landing at Sydney Airport on Thursday night.
Safar was later charged with entering or remaining ina declared area, and being a member of a terrorist organisation.
Police will allege she travelled to Syria in 2015 to join her husband, who had previously left Australia to join ISIS.
Safar faced Downing Centre Local Court on Friday afternoon, where she was refused bail. She is next scheduled to appear in the same court on July 15.
The AFP said investigations into the group are ongoing.
‘This remains an active investigation into very serious allegations,’ Commissioner Stephen Nutt told reporters in Canberra on Thursday night.
It’s understood 21 Australians remain in the Al-Roj camp, in north-eastern Syria.
