Three Australian women with links to the Islamic State (IS) group have been formally charged after returning home from Syria.
Kawsar Ahmad, 53 and her daughter Zeinab Ahmad, 31, appeared in a Melbourne court on Friday, less than 24 hours after they were arrested at the airport, and were remanded in custody.
Kawsar Ahmad faces four charges of crimes against humanity, with police alleging she went to Syria in 2014 and kept a female slave in her home. Zeinab Ahmad faces two similar charges.
In Sydney, Janai Safar, 32, also appeared in court, charged with allegedly entering and remaining in a declared conflict zone and joining IS. She arrived in Sydney on Thursday with her son.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) allege Kawsar Ahmad 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 the home”.
For Zeinab Ahmad, police allege she also travelled to Syria in 2014 with her family and knowingly kept a female slave in the home. These charges carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
The pair appeared at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday and were remanded in custody until Monday, when their lawyers said they would apply for bail. Neither was required to speak at the brief hearing.
Another of Kawsar Ahmad’s adult children, Zahra Ahmad, also arrived in Melbourne on Thursday but was not detained.
For Safar, police allege she travelled to Syria in 2015 to join her husband, who had previously left Australia and joined IS.
She has also been charged with being a member of a terrorist organisation. Both offences carry a maximum penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment. She was remanded in custody on Friday and will next appear in court in July.
AFP Assistant Commissioner for Counter Terrorism Stephen Nutt said police have being investigating “all Australians who travelled to declared conflict areas and will ensure those who are alleged to have committed a criminal offence are put before the courts”.
“This remains an active investigation into very serious allegations,” he said.
The three women who were arrested on Thursday were part of a group of four women and nine children who arrived in Australia on Thursday.
They are part of a larger cohort of 34 Australian women and children who had been living at the al-Roj camp in Syria since 2019.
The cohort left the camp in February in a bid to return to Australia but were returned to the camp for “technical reasons” with the Australian government refusing to offer them any assistance.
One member of the cohort was banned from returning to Australia earlier this year when the government issued a “temporary exclusion order”, meaning that person cannot return for up to two years.
There were chaotic scenes at Melbourne airport on Thursday evening when the only woman who was not arrested emerged from the arrivals hall.
A group of about 15 men, mostly clad in black, swarmed around her and the children to cover their faces from the waiting media pack.
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