Two Australian women charged with committing crimes against humanity including slavery offences during the rule of Islamic State in Syria have faced a Melbourne court.
Kawsar Ahmad, 53, also known as Abbas, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmad, 31, were arrested by officers from the Victorian joint counter-terrorism team at Melbourne airport on Thursday.
A third woman, Janai Safar, 32, is expected to appear in a Sydney court on Friday charged with entering a declared conflict zone and joining a terrorist organisation.
Kawsar and Zeinab Ahmad were charged with crimes against humanity including enslavement and using a slave. Kawsar Ahmad was also charged with possessing a slave and engaging in slave trading, Australian federal police confirmed on Friday.
Police would allege the pair travelled to Syria in 2014 with their family and knowingly kept an enslaved woman in their home, the AFP said. They would additionally allege that the 53-year-old, who travelled to Syria with her husband, was complicit in the purchase of an enslaved woman for US$10,000.
The enslavement offences each carry a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment.
The pair appeared separately before the chief magistrate, Lisa Hannan, on Friday, with the Melbourne magistrates court hearing that they would apply for bail on Monday.
The AFP will allege the offences were terrorism-related and are expected to oppose bail.
Neither woman was required to speak or enter a plea during the short hearing, before they were remanded in custody.
Hannan, who described the matters as “unusual charges” heard that the attorney general had been required to consent to them being laid.
A summary of the allegations, which the court heard was “significant”, is expected to be read at Monday’s hearing.
The summary includes information from the alleged enslaved woman, and a witness to the alleged offences, the court was told.
A small group of supporters attended court, including a brother of Kawsar who was also at the airport on Thursday night.
Kawsar Ahmad’s eldest daughter, 33-year-old Zahra Ahmad, was not arrested or charged. The women arrived with eight children.
Safar was charged in Sydney with allegedly entering a declared conflict zone and joining Islamic State.
She was expected to face Downing Centre local court on Friday charged with entering, or remaining in, declared areas, and being a member of a terrorist organisation, Australian federal police said on Thursday night. Both offences carry a maximum penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
It will be alleged that she travelled to Syria in 2015 to join her husband, who had previously left Australia and joined IS. Safar arrived in Sydney with her child on Thursday night.
Safar’s lawyers are expected to make an application for her bail when she appears before court. Commonwealth prosecutors told the court earlier on Friday that her lawyers were seeking an “urgent psychologist report” before making the release application.
The AFP assistant commissioner for counter-terrorism, Stephen Nutt, said on Thursday night that planning for the potential return of individuals from the Middle East had started in 2015 and had later been formalised under an overarching operation named Kurrajong.
“Australian joint counter-terrorism teams methodically investigated 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,” Nutt said.
“JCTTs include some of the most experienced national security investigators and analysts in our country.
“This remains an active investigation into very serious allegations.”
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