Australian authorities have charged two women with offences related to slavery after they returned from Syria, where they had been detained in a refugee camp for more than seven years.
The women, aged 53 and 31, face crimes against humanity charges including owning and using a slave in Syria, which carry a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. They were arrested at Melbourne airport upon their arrival.
Thirteen women and children with alleged ties to Isis returned to Australia years after the collapse of the extremist group’s caliphate.
Several women and children arrived in Melbourne on Thursday night, while another woman travelling with her child landed separately in Sydney.
Authorities moved quickly after their arrival, charging the two women in Melbourne. Separately, a 32-year-old Australian woman was arrested at Sydney airport on Thursday and charged with terror-related offences, including allegedly joining Isis. The charges carry a maximum jail term of 10 years, and she is due to appear in a Sydney court on Friday.
Australia’s department of home affairs estimates that more than 200 Australians, including men, women and children, travelled to Syria and Iraq between 2012 and 2019 to support or join the terrorist group.
The department also said that dozens more Australians aided the extremist organisation in other ways, including by assisting fighters abroad or plotting and carrying out attacks on home soil.
On Friday, the Australian Federal Police said 53-years-old Kawsar Ahmad, also known as Abbas, and her 31-year-old daughter Zeinab Ahma were taken into custody by the Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) after landing at Melbourne Airport.
The older woman has been charged with crimes against humanity, possessing a slave, and engaging in slave trading.
Kawsar Ahmad reportedly 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”.
Her daughter Zeinab Ahmad has also been charged with crimes against humanity and using a slave. Zeinab reportedly travelled to Syria in 2014 with her family and “knowingly kept a female slave in the home”.
The third woman, identified by local media as Janai Safar, was due to face court in Sydney over allegations she entered an Isis-controlled conflict zone and became a member of the extremist organisation.
These offences reportedly carry a maximum penalty of up to 10 years of imprisonment. Safar reportedly travelled to Syria in 2015 to join her husband, who had previously left Australia and joined Isis, the federal police said in a statement.
The women and children had been living in detention camps in north-eastern Syria since Isis lost its territory in 2019. The latest group of 13 returnees – four women and nine children – was among 34 Australians who attempted to leave the Al Roj camp earlier this year but were initially stopped.
Many foreign families linked to Isis have remained for years in overcrowded camps, including Al Roj and Al Hawl.
The women and children who arrived in Australia on Thursday night departed the Al Roj detention camp in April. The group had reportedly been staying in the Syrian capital, Damascus, before arranging flights back to Australia.
Australian Federal Police’s assistant commissioner, counter terrorism, Stephen Nutt said the operational planning for the potential return of individuals from the Middle East started in 2015 and later formalised under an overarching operation named Kurrajong.
“Australian JCTTs 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,” he said in a statement.
“This remains an active investigation into very serious allegations.”
Victoria Police assistant commissioner Martin O’Brien said the safety of all Victorians remained paramount.
“Victoria Police will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners and other agencies to ensure there is no risk to our local community,” he said.
“We want to reassure all Victorians that anyone residing in our state who has committed serious criminal offences, including those returning from conflict areas, will be held to account.”
Australia previously brought home four women and 13 children from detention camps in Syria in 2022.
Meanwhile, Donald Rothwell, an international law professor at the Australian National University, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the situation was “completely unprecedented”.
“There’s really no precedent of any such charges being brought before an Australian court,” he said.
“The question would be whether or not there’s been any evidence of enslavement of persons in Syria at all and what role at all the women played in that process; whether they just happen to be family members within the family unit, in which the male member was conducting this activity; or whether they were coordinating this activity,” he added.
He said proving the charges would require “a fairly high evidentiary burden to be met”.
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