Four women and their nine children are on their way home to face ‘the full force of the law’
The Albanese Government has made a major call on the fate of women and children linked to former ISIS fighters.
Thirteen former ISIS brides and their children are returning to Australia from Syria — and they face potential arrest on their return to Australia due to their involvement with the terror group.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed on Wednesday that the group had made plans to return but insisted the government – that has issued the group passports – was not assisting them.
He warned that a group of four former ISIS brides set to return to Australia will face “the full force of the law” for their alleged crimes.
“The Government has not and will not provide any assistance to this group, which consists of four women and nine children,’’ he said.
“These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation.
“As we have said many times – any members of this cohort who have committed crimes can expect to face the full force of the law.”
Mr Burke also suggested the group will be under surveillance by spy agencies on their return at an expected cost of millions of dollars.
“Our world-class law enforcement and intelligence agencies have been preparing for their return since 2014 and have long-standing plans in place to manage and monitor them,’’ he said.
The nine children and four women were released from the Al-Roj detention centre in Syria last month but have faced a series of hurdles to returning to Australia.
The Syrian government has previously stopped the group from reaching the airport at Syria’s capital city Damascus because Australian authorities had “refused to receive them”.
The Albanese government has repeatedly denied assisting to repatriate the group, while accepting that the group “have a set of rights, including return home”.
ISIS brides face arrest
The group face potential arrest on their return to Australia due to their involvement with Islamic State.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett confirmed on Wednesday that terror charges were expected for some group members after the government confirmed the group had booked flights from Syria.
“Some individuals will be arrested and charged,” she said.
“Some will face continued investigations when they arrive in Australia, and children who return in the cohort will be asked to undergo community integration programs, therapeutic support and countering violent extremism programs.”
She declined to specify how many or when, saying: “I will not flag how many individuals will be arrested, or when they will be arrested, to protect a number of our investigations.”
Commissioner Barrett said planning for the returnees had begun more than a decade ago.
“Operational planning for the return of these individuals started in 2015. It was then formalised under an overarching coordination operation named Operation Courageous.”
For more than a decade, she said, investigators had been “collecting evidence and information in Syria—a war zone with no functioning government—to determine whether Australians had committed Commonwealth offences.
The potential charges included terrorism offences such as entering or remaining in declared areas, and crimes against humanity, such as engaging in slave trading.
When asked whether the arrests applied specifically to the current returning cohort, Barrett said the investigations were broader.
“The investigations that I’m referring to that commenced in 2015 refer to the whole cohort. We have ongoing investigations and planning in place for the remainder of the cohort that may seek to return at some point.”
US officials have called on countries to accept people linked to former fighters.
Shadow Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration Jonno Duniam has accused the government of mishandling the situation.
“These are individuals who chose to abandon Australia, our values of freedom and opportunity for all, to align themselves with a terrorist organisation,’’ he said.
“If they have not done security checks over the last four years yet issued them passports, it indicates tacit approval of terrorist sympathisers to come back. Where is the right of Australians to be protected?”
“In addition to the group reportedly on their way from Syria, the Coalition understands that there may be at least another dozen ISIS Brides and dependants still overseas. The Government must urgently clarify how many are still out there, what their status is and explain to Australians what its plan is to handle them.
“Australians deserve to know whether these individuals are being handled in a controlled and transparent way, or whether the Government will continue to allow external actors like Tony Burke’s campaign manager, Dr Jamal Rifi, to effectively dictate our foreign policy decisions by bringing back terrorist sympathisers to Australia.”