Four Australian ISIS-linked Women Charged Upon Return From Syria

Four women who returned from a camp in northern Syria were charged by police with offences ranging from entering a declared zone and joining a terrorist organisation to crimes against humanity including the enslavement of a Yazidi female. The charges against two of the women are the first crimes against humanity offences laid in Australia.

The women arrived on Thursday night as part of a group of 13 people. Three of the women were taken into custody immediately while a fourth, Zahra Ahmad, was not arrested. As the women appeared in court in Sydney and Melbourne on Friday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had "zero sympathy" for any Australians who had travelled to join the Islamic State's self-proclaimed caliphate.

He noted that the United States government and others had urged Australia to facilitate the returns and that Australia had made its own decision as a sovereign state. >"one of the things that divides our society from the lawless barbarity of ISIS is that we believe in the rule of law" — Anthony Albanese (The Sydney Morning Herald) Albanese added that while he had no sympathy for the adults, he did have sympathy for the children, who are victims of decisions made by their parents.

He said the children needed support after experiencing dire conditions in Syrian camps and exposure to a violent ideology.

A Yazidi community leader who fled Iraq for Australia in 2018 said the developments brought back very painful memories and emotional scars for survivors, especially women who endured captivity and slavery. The leader said the community was urging authorities to fully investigate any Australians accused of supporting terrorism or participating in crimes against humanity.

He stated that survivors deserved justice, protection and reassurance that their suffering was being taken seriously. Another Yazidi leader said community members lived in fear of encountering former captors on the street. Thousands of Yazidis were killed or abducted after Islamic State took control of parts of Iraq in 2014.

Women and girls were enslaved and subjected to abuse in actions recognised as genocide by a United Nations commission of inquiry.

Police said investigations remained ongoing into very serious allegations. One woman was refused bail in Sydney on Friday. The two women charged with crimes against humanity in Melbourne will seek release back into the community at a bail hearing on Monday.

An international law professor at Sydney University described the charges as unprecedented, noting that Australia had not successfully prosecuted any international crimes in the last 75 years. He said prosecutors would need to prove the alleged offences occurred in a broader context of systemic persecution of a particular population.

The opposition home affairs spokesman questioned why the government had not applied for temporary exclusion orders or refused passports on national security grounds if evidence was sufficient for arrest. An estimated 20 more ISIS-linked women and children remain in the Syrian camp and could seek to return to Australia in coming weeks.