Key Points
- The group of women and children have been held in Syria’s al-Roj refugee camp since 2019.
- ASIO boss Mike Burgess says their return raises no immediate concern.
In a significant development, a contingent of Australian women and children, who have been associated with the self-declared Islamic State (IS) group, are anticipated to soon set foot on Australian soil. Authorities from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) have confirmed that upon their arrival, some individuals within this group will face arrest.
The federal government announced on Wednesday morning that plans have been made for 13 members of this Australian group to return home. The group comprises four women and nine children. However, the government clarified that it has not extended any assistance to facilitate their journey back to Australia.
SBS News has reported that the group’s arrival is expected on Thursday night. These individuals are part of a larger assembly of 34 women and children who have been detained at the al-Roj camp in northern Syria since the Islamic State group’s downfall in 2019.
Often labeled as ‘ISIS brides,’ these women are linked, either through perception or reality, to fighters from the IS group. Their impending return marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing narrative surrounding individuals with connections to the Islamic State.
The cohort is part of a larger group of 34 women and children who have been held at the al-Roj detention camp in northern Syria since 2019, when the IS group collapsed.
The women are often referred to as ‘ISIS brides’, given their perceived or real links to IS group fighters.
“The government has not and will not provide any assistance to this group, which consists of four women and nine children,” a government spokesperson said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese repeated his stance that returnees suspected of committing crimes would face “the full force of the law”.
“These are people who’ve made what is a horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and have placed their children in an extraordinary situation,” he told reporters.
“As we’ve said many times, any members of this cohort who have committed crimes can expect to face the full force of the law, and that will occur.”
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) chief Mike Burgess said the group’s return raised no immediate concern and there would be no change to the national terrorism threat level.
The group left the al-Roj refugee camp by bus in late April, after Syrian interior forces picked them up and took them to Syria’s capital of Damascus.
The government has long said that anyone in the group who is alleged to have committed a crime will be charged on arrival in Australia.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday morning, AFP commissioner Krissy Barrret refused to confirm how many people will be arrested.
“Some individuals will be arrested and charged, some will face continued investigations when they arrive in Australia,” she said.
“And children who return in the cohort will be asked to undergo community integration programs, therapeutic support and countering violent extremism programs.”
Barrett said the cohort has been monitored since 2015, with national security investigators and analysts collecting information for over a decade about potential offences committed in Syria.
She said these included terrorism offences such as “entering or remaining in declared areas and crimes against humanity offences, such as engaging in slave trading”.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said there are “very serious limits” on preventing a citizen from returning to their home country, except for temporary exclusion orders (TEO).
A TEO is a temporary ban on an individual re-entering the country based on national security grounds, with Burke reiterating he promptly acted on such advice in February, when he issued one ban on a woman in the broader cohort.
Opposition home affairs spokesperson Jonathon Duniam again urged the government to prevent the cohort’s arrival in Australia.
“I say this government has one last chance before these people board planes back to Australia to revoke their travel documents, to apply temporary exclusion orders. Australians are not feeling safe now, we know that,” he told reporters.
“If there is a chance to stop them, we should do everything we can to stop it.”
Members of this group’s extended family have been trying to help them return to Australia, with a failed attempt in February.
They have consistently said the women will comply with any legal directions and Australian law once they touch down.
The government has faced intense scrutiny over the group, who are Australian citizens, with questions raised about the level of consular assistance being provided.
Burke said the government has maintained a hard line to “do nothing to assist”.
“The government’s complete lack of support for these individuals is a direct reflection of the decisions,” he said on Wednesday.
“The Australian government is not repatriating people from Syria,” the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement to SBS News.
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