MELBOURNE, Australia — Authorities have filed slavery and terrorism charges against three Australian women following their return from Syria, where officials claim they maintained connections to the Islamic State terrorist organization.
The women arrived Thursday on Qatar Airways flights from Doha, along with seven other individuals — four women and nine children total — who had been detained for years at Roj Camp in Syria’s desert region. Despite government warnings that criminal charges awaited their return, the group proceeded with their journey home.
Melbourne court proceedings on Friday resulted in charges against Kawsar Abbas, 53, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmed, 31. Law enforcement officials allege the family purchased a female Yazidi slave for $10,000 during their time in Syria.
Defense attorneys indicated they plan to request bail for both women when court reconvenes Monday.
According to police allegations, Abbas relocated to Syria in 2014 with her husband and children during the height of ISIS’s self-declared caliphate. Authorities claim Abbas participated in acquiring the slave, who was subsequently held at the family’s residence.
The elder woman faces four counts of crimes against humanity under Australian legislation, while her daughter confronts two slavery-related charges. Each count potentially carries a 25-year prison sentence.
Kurdish military forces detained both women in March 2019, and they have remained at Roj Camp with other family members since that time.
A third woman, age 32, was apprehended at Sydney Airport and charged with terrorist organization membership and unlawfully entering territory under terrorist control. These charges each carry maximum 10-year prison terms.
Investigators say this woman followed her ISIS-affiliated partner to Syria. Australian law prohibited travel to Raqqa, the former Syrian ISIS stronghold, without legitimate justification between 2014 and 2017.
The Sydney defendant plans to seek bail release during Friday court proceedings.
Government officials have criticized these women for supporting Islamic State militants through their Syrian travel and have declined to assist in their repatriation efforts.
Law enforcement agencies have conducted investigations into potential Australian involvement in Syrian atrocities for over ten years.
Twenty-one additional Australian women and children continue to be held at Roj Camp in northeastern Syria near the Iraqi border. Advocacy groups have informed media outlets they intend to secure their return within the coming weeks.
One woman among those remaining faces a temporary exclusion order preventing her Australian return.
Such exclusion orders allow Australia to block high-risk citizens from returning for up to two years.
These legal measures were established through 2019 legislation designed to prevent defeated ISIS combatants from returning to Australia. No previous public reports exist of such an order being implemented.
Children under 14 cannot be subject to exclusion orders, and Australia has rejected policies that would separate children from their mothers.
Australian administrations have previously facilitated the return of Australian women and children from Syrian detention facilities on two separate occasions. Additional Australians have returned through independent means without government support.
