Two ISIS brides to make bid for freedom on slavery charges
Updated ,first published
Two women linked to Islamic State will seek release at a bail hearing on Monday after appearing in court accused of slavery crimes.
Grandmother Kawsar Abbas, 54, and daughter Zeinab Ahmad, 31, were among four women and nine children who arrived in Australia on Thursday night after spending years in a refugee camp in north-east Syria.
Australian Federal Police announced on Friday morning that the couple had been charged with enslavement and slave use. Abbas, also known as Kawsar Ahmed, was also accused of owning and trading slaves.
“Allegedly the woman [Abbas] He traveled to Syria with his wife and children in 2014 and was complicit in the purchase of a female slave for US$10,000 ($13,875) and knowingly kept the woman at home, AFP said. he said in a statement.
Each of the crimes considered a “crime against humanity” carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
Abbas was represented on Friday by high-profile lawyer Bill Doogue, who defended murderous mushroom cook Erin Patterson last year.
As he walked toward the defendant’s stand, he smiled briefly at a group of supporters in the packed courtroom.
The prosecutor told chief judge Lisa Hannan that at least three hours were needed for a bail hearing where the Crown would press for the arrest of Abbas and Ahmed.
“It will take at least an hour, an hour and a half, to read the summary, Your Honor,” he said.
The court heard the Commonwealth attorney had authorized the unusual charges against the couple.
While lawyer Maya George stated that she, too, would make a bid for freedom on Monday, Ahmed was expressionless as he walked to the defendant’s chair.
Commonwealth prosecutors also said they would file for a suppression order to protect the identities of the alleged Yazidi slave victims.
The accused mother and daughter arrived from Syria, where they had been living in Al Roj refugee camp for seven years, after leaving Australia to join associates linked to the Islamic State. AFP said these people were detained in the camp by Kurdish forces in March 2019.
Abbas went to Syria with Zeinab and her other daughter, Zahra, to join her husband and her daughters’ father, Mohammed Ahmed.
The fourth woman who returned to Australia was not arrested. Children who will start a new life in Australia after spending most of their lives in war zones and ruined camps will be placed in anti-radicalization programs and given psychological support.
AFP Deputy Commissioner Stephen Nutt said the investigation was active and involved “very serious allegations”.
Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Martin O’Brien said the safety of all Victorians was 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 resident in our state who commits serious crimes, including those returning from conflict zones, will be held accountable.”
The return of women has been the subject of heated political debate; the government insisted that it had no role in the repatriation of the women and could do little to intervene because the women were Australian citizens.
Labor senator Tim Ayres told Nine’s: “The position of this government has always been not to help any of these people return.” Today. “[There are] “There were very strong views in the government that they shouldn’t have gone in the first place.”
National leader Matt Canavan said on Friday morning the government should access special powers to deny women entry.
“We offered to give the government more powers which were rejected,” he told the ABC Radio National.
“I think what’s really important now is for the prime minister to come out today and explain how this is helping… and explaining to the Australian people how it’s keeping them safe.”
Liberal deputy leader Jane Hume appears at Seven’s sunriseHe echoed Canavan’s comments that the government should do more to deny passports or issue temporary protection orders.
He raised the case of a young Yazidi woman, now living in Australia, who was one of the children enslaved by Islamic State families.
“The trauma this woman went through is unimaginable. And now people just like her kidnappers have been invited back to Australia.”
with Broede Carmody
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Angus Delaney is a reporter for The Age. Email him at angus.delaney@theage.com.au or contact him securely on Signal at angusdelaney.31.Connect via email.
Lachlan Abbott is a crime reporter for The Age. She was previously a city reporter, covering breaking news.Connect via email.
