‘ISIS bride’ allegedly urged her children to behave like terrorists
William Ton
The alleged ISIS bride allegedly tried to indoctrinate her young children with extremist propaganda and encouraged them to behave like Islamic State fighters while living in Syria.
Rayann El Houli appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday while her bail application continues.
The 34-year-old man was accused in May of traveling to a declared conflict zone and joining the terrorist group Islamic State.
Senior Constable Paul Sherlock told the court he went to Syria voluntarily in 2014 and lived under Islamic State rule until its defeat in 2019.
Al Houli and his family were detained by Syrian forces and held in the Al-Hawl detention camp in northeastern Syria for six years until September. They were later kidnapped and sent back to Australia.
Describing the facts of the case, Sherlock touched upon the videos Al Houli’s children took while living in ISIS-controlled Syria.
In a May 2015 clip translated from Arabic, Al Houli allegedly showed his toddler a video on his laptop featuring “mujahideen,” or ISIS fighters, holding guns.
“What are they doing? Are they killing infidels?” he allegedly asked.
“Yes,” the boy replied.
He allegedly said, “Where will Allah put the unbelievers? He will throw them into hell.”
“In hell,” the boy repeated.
Sherlock said another video showed Al Houli encouraging his child to “act like a mujahid.”
“How do you hold the gun?” the boy allegedly asked while imitating shooting a rifle.
“Hold it well,” he allegedly repeated.
He is also accused of asking the boy to show how the mujahideen “slaughtered (infidels) with knives.”
The clips were not played in the open field. El Houli’s lawyer, Peter Morrissey SC, said his client suffered significant post-traumatic stress disorder when he saw his children in the videos.
Sherlock also said that several weapons, including guns, could be seen in the videos taken at the house where El Houli stayed with her sister and uncle after her divorce from her third husband.
One video allegedly showed the boys sleeping on the bed with an AK-47 leaning against the wall next to them.
The lead investigator said Al Houli posed an unacceptable risk of endangering the safety of the community and her children.
He said strict bail conditions would not assuage concerns, given that authorities had no knowledge that he was motivated by radical ideology.
Prosecutor Andrew Sprague said al-Houli’s claims and enthusiasm for ISIS when he traveled to Syria and supported the regime “weakened” his claims about its initial ideology and motivations.
He told psychologist Katie Seidler that his explanation that he was merely playing a role was contradicted by videos that allegedly showed propaganda to his children.
“Are you trying to brainwash them?” Judge Brett Sonnet asked.
“Yes, Your Honor,” Sprague said.
The court was told Al Houli refused to take part in the Countering Violent Extremism program upon his return to Australia in 2025.
But the defense countered, saying she suffered symptoms of multiple sclerosis while leading a “very stressful life” while caring for her children.
Mr Morrissey said in 2018 that his activities in Syria were “very old” and that he was now focusing on being a good mother.
“Knowing that if she does something wrong she will be arrested and separated from her children increases the protective factor?” the judge asked.
“Yes, and it will hurt her and the children,” Mr Morrissey said.
Sonnet will announce his bail decision on Monday.
AAP
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