al-Roj camp boss Hakamia Ibrahim
Updated ,first published
Anthony Albanese continued to insist his government was not helping ISIS-linked families return home, despite Syrian officials confirming overnight that the women and children’s passports had been issued by Australia.
This imprint revealed that on Wednesday, the head of the camp who detained 34 women and children confirmed that the families had presented valid passports. Sources with knowledge of the matter but not authorized to speak publicly stated that the passports presented in the Roj camp were “disposable” documents.
Camp boss Hakamia Ibrahim said in an exclusive Arabic interview with this imprint: “We took photographs of the families’ passports and made copies. I personally saw the passports and made copies; this is a security measure.” Authorities in northeastern Syria always require valid travel documents before families can be released from the camp.
This imprint’s requests to see the documents were denied.
Eleven women and 23 children, all Australian citizens, are trying to return home after their ISIS fighter husbands were imprisoned or killed. They have been living in tents for seven years, since the overthrow of the so-called caliphate in March 2019.
The Prime Minister has denied for months that the government was helping any Australians leave Syria, but issuing them passports refutes that narrative.
He insists that providing passports and supporting the family-organised repatriation process does not constitute “assistance”.
“What is happening is the application of Australian law,” Albanese told reporters in Tasmania on Wednesday. “We are not providing any assistance to these people and we will not provide any assistance to these people. But we will not violate Australian law.”
The Passport Bill says citizens should be issued a passport to “any Australian who meets the eligibility conditions”, meaning it meets “citizenship and identity requirements”, according to senior DFAT officials responding to parliamentary questions earlier this month.
However, many previous requests from families for their passports were rejected. Albanese did not answer questions about what had changed recently to make this possible.
In north-east Syria, where 11 women and 23 children had to travel to return home, Albanese’s comments come as the Australian government refuses to repatriate the group. Ibrahim also said it was unclear whether the women would receive permission to travel because they were turned away on the highway and returned to the camp on Monday.
Opposition defense spokesman James Paterson said temporary removal orders should be considered to keep families off shore to give authorities time to build a legal case against them for their terrorism links.
“This could keep an Australian citizen offshore for up to two years so that a case can be built against them and they can then be charged if they choose to return,” Paterson told Sky News.
“It is now possible, depending on the individual circumstances of each of these individuals, that they may have committed crimes abroad, they appear to be linked to the listed terrorist organization ISIS, which is also a crime.”
Albanese said the government was taking national security advice on whether to issue such orders; this was a counter-terrorism measure to prevent citizens deemed a security threat from re-entering the country for up to two years.
“We will do everything we can to keep Australians safe within the law,” Albanese said. Concerns have been raised about whether the decisions were constitutional, but the question has never been tested in the Supreme Court.
Human rights defenders appealed for mercy for the 23 children in the cohort and the women who said they were forcibly taken to their husbands in Syria.
Asked about children choosing not to leave Australia, Albanese said: “I think it’s unfortunate that children are involved in this situation. It’s not their decision, it’s their parent’s or mother’s decision.” But he continued to insist that “we are not doing anything to repatriate or assist these people.”
“We want to make sure that we continue to be very clear about the government’s position. I can’t be clearer,” he told reporters.
Camp director Ibrahim said the families were devastated because efforts to bring them home from the camp had stopped, at least temporarily. “The hopes of women and children were shattered.”
Family advocates say the Australian government has known about the identities, circumstances and activities of this group for more than a decade in some cases, and that they have been thoroughly investigated by the Australian Federal Police and ASIO since their capture and arrest in 2019.
Those extradited in the previous two tranches, in 2019 and 2022, are said to face minor criminal charges at most. No convictions were recorded.
The “family repatriation” was organized by Western Sydney doctor Jamal Rifi. Rifi is a key supporter of Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke in the Western Sydney electorate. Rifi’s brother Ashraf is an influential political figure in neighboring Lebanon.
Rifi, who is in the Middle East to help facilitate the transfer, did not respond to requests for comment.
“There is no official statement from the Syrian or Australian government explaining why they are not accepting Australian families,” Ibrahim said. Local officials blamed a lack of “coordination” in Syria.
Rasha Muhrez, Save the Children’s Syria country manager, said that al-Roj camp is not a suitable environment for children.
“This is a camp environment. This is not a place for children to live or grow up. There is no idea when children might leave the camp or what might happen in the future,” he told ABC Radio National.
Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, who specializes in human rights law and serves on the Independent International Commission of Inquiry for the Syrian Arab Republic, said on Wednesday that the women should be tried if they have committed a crime, but the families should be sent back to reduce the risk of further radicalizing the children.
Michael Bachelard is The Age’s senior writer and former deputy editor and research editor. He has worked in Canberra, Melbourne and Jakarta, written two books and won several awards for journalism, including the Gold Walkley.Connect with: X or email.
Brittany Busch is the federal politics correspondent for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
