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Australia Allows Last Woman Held in Syrian IS Camp to Return Under Strict Conditions
The final Australian woman detained in a Syrian camp for families of Islamic State fighters received permission to return home. Officials will impose monitoring requirements on her travel, residence, work, and communications.
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The last Australian woman held in a Syrian camp for families of Islamic State fighters has been granted permission to return to Australia under strict conditions, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Thursday. The woman and her nine-year-old daughter had planned to return in February with other Australians held in the Roj camp but were blocked by a temporary exclusion order.
Australia introduced the orders in 2019 to bar defeated IS fighters from returning for up to two years.
Police and security agencies will enforce the conditions, which require the woman to notify authorities of her residence, workplace, studies, and travel plans. She must also give 24 hours' notice before using any telecommunications device, including public phones or social media.
Burke told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that authorities will apply the highest level of scrutiny permitted by law. The woman is the only known target of such an exclusion order.
The woman left Sydney for Syria in 2015 at age 18.
Three of four women who returned with nine children on May 7 were arrested and charged with terrorism and slavery offenses; they remain in jail after bail was denied. Opposition lawmakers criticized the government for not changing the law to block her return.
The government cited national security grounds for the original order but did not provide details. It is not clear whether the woman will face arrest upon arrival.
