Syria returnee Kawsar Ahmad disavows Islamic State in bid for bail
Experts have no reliable way to gauge whether an extremist is likely to reoffend, a court has said as it considers the severity of granting bail to one of the alleged ISIS brides.
Kawsar Ahmad appeared in court in Melbourne on Monday, a week after his accomplice daughter was refused bail.
Ms Ahmad, 54, faces four slavery charges for allegedly keeping a slave from the persecuted Yazidi ethnic minority and giving him religious lessons while she lived in Syria and supported the Islamic State.
The court heard evidence and arguments all day on Monday, will reconvene on Tuesday for further applications and will decide on bail on Thursday.
Ms Ahmed’s lawyers argued that the grandmother had rejected the Islamic State following the deaths of her sons and brother, wanted to live a peaceful life after six years in a refugee camp, and was in the process of divorcing her husband, who was detained in Iraq.
Prosecutors allege that the alleged act of enslavement constitutes part of the Islamic State’s crimes against humanity.
Her lawyer suggested bail conditions that Ms Ahmad would not receive religious education and would not be involved in mosques.
Ms Ahmad’s lawyers called a forensic psychologist to testify on Monday, who told the court there was no reliable risk assessment tool available because only 1.6 to 2.9 per cent of extremists reoffend.
Forensic psychologist Michael Davis said he interviewed Ms Ahmad at length about her mental state, her previous radical views and her current views on Islam.
“Just because he held these views ten years ago, I think it is unlikely that these views will resurface.
“His loss of two brothers and a son…this probably contributed to his negative views of the Islamic State.”
Dr Davis said Ms Ahmad had a lot of post-traumatic stress and major depressive symptoms.
Chief Justice Lisa Hannan questioned whether Dr Davis believed Ms Ahmad could follow her sons and brother to martyrdom.
“No. I don’t think so at all. He’s not going to kill himself. It goes against his more moderate views on Sunni Islam. I don’t see it as a ‘last resort’ type of thinking,” Dr Davis said.
“Re-radicalisation is vanishingly rare and there is no literature on it.”
Under cross-examination, Dr Davis said he had never de-radicalised Islamist extremists but had worked on the assessment of many radicalized Australians.
“He comes across as a very damaged person who wants to be with his family and has a dark view of the Islamic State.”
Dr. Davis’s expert opinion was that the sample size on which to base the recidivism risk assessment tool was too small, as a very small proportion of radicalized and convicted people go on to reoffend.
“I’m very cautious. I’ve searched hard for things that would stop me when it comes to Ms. Ahmad and I haven’t really found anything.
“Most people who kill someone don’t become serial killers.”
Ms Ahmad’s brother offered $75,000 bail in exchange for the family home and told the court he would immediately call the police if his sister violated any bail conditions.
His brother said in court: “I am a moderate Muslim. I condemn the Islamic State. My family does not support the Islamic State, has never supported it, will never support it. This has nothing to do with Islam.”
On Monday, Ms Ahmad’s lawyer told the court that her estranged husband was the “real culprit” and that Ms Ahmad had traveled to Syria via Turkey after her husband took a second wife.
The grandmother, her daughters and grandchildren spent six years in refugee camps before returning to Australia this year.
The court was told there was no evidence Ms Ahmad tried to brainwash anyone while she was in the camps in north-west Syria.
His barrister, Peter Morrissey SC, argued that the Australian government could have charged him earlier and that this delay, in addition to the minimum three years required for a trial, was grounds for bail. The lawyer also read that Ms Ahmad had openly rejected the terrorist group.
Australian Federal Police agent Marc Clendenning gave evidence based on the testimony of the woman who was allegedly enslaved.
“I told them that I did not want to study religiously. Kawsar told me that if I did not study, I would end up in hell.
“I wasn’t allowed to practice my own religion. If I missed prayers, they would beat me,” says the alleged victim.
Applying for bail, Morrissey said the Islamic Society of Victoria had written to the court acknowledging Ms Ahmed’s situation, including her wish not to attend any mosques.
Defending bail, Mr Morrissey said: “He will live a very limited and peaceful life; that is his wish.” he said.
Ms. Ahmad was in the process of divorcing her husband, which was delayed because she did not have an original marriage certificate.
“He wants to practice his religion peacefully in his home,” Mr. Morrissey said.
“He is a fair dinkum. He wants to behave… he is ready to apply any restrictions and wants to show that he is worthy of the trust (of bail),” his lawyer said.
The Magistrates Court will reconvene on Tuesday to hear more evidence on the bail application and Chief Magistrate Hannan said he expected to make a decision on Thursday.
