FILE PHOTO: Unidentified women walk through the camp where family members of suspected Islamic State militants are being held at Roy camp in eastern Syria.
Australian authorities on Thursday arrested three women with suspected links to the Islamic State group after returning from Syria with their children, as police prepare to charge them with slavery and terrorism-related charges.The women were among four Australian women and nine children repatriated from a detention camp in northeastern Syria, where they spent years after the collapse of Islamic State’s self-proclaimed caliphate, AFP reported.Two Qatar Airways flights carrying returnees landed in Melbourne and Sydney on Thursday, the Associated Press reported. One flight carried three women and eight children to Melbourne, while another woman and her son arrived in Sydney.A 54-year-old woman has been arrested at Melbourne Airport and is expected to face four slavery-related crimes against humanity, the Australian Federal Police said.The charges include accusations of owning slaves, using slaves and slave trading in Syria, Reuters reported.A 31-year-old woman on the same flight was also arrested and is expected to face two slavery-related charges, while a 32-year-old woman arrested in Sydney will be charged with being a member of a terrorist organization and traveling to a restricted area.
Women may face severe penalties
Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt said the alleged offenses were linked to activities in Syria and stressed “the safety of the community is the top priority for all agencies involved.”Some of the charges carry a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.A fourth woman traveling with the gang had not been arrested as of Thursday evening.Under Australian law, traveling to the former Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa in Syria between 2014 and 2017 without valid reasons is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Years spent in Syrian detention camps
Many of the women reportedly traveled to Syria between 2012 and 2016, often with their husbands who were linked to the Islamic State. After the extremist group’s defeat in 2019, relatives of suspected militants were detained in camps such as al-Roj in northeastern Syria.Some women told reporters they spent up to 12 years in Syria, with their children born in harsh camp conditions.ABC reporter Bridget Rollason, who was on one of the flights, said one woman told her she was “willing to take the risk” of being arrested so her children could return to Australia.“One woman I spoke to said the thing she missed the most was coffee. She said she couldn’t wait to go back to Little Collins Street in Melbourne for a cup of coffee,” Rollason said, according to the Associated Press.The women’s return has reignited debate in Australia about deporting citizens with links to extremist groups.Home Secretary Tony Burke earlier described the women’s decision to join Islamic State as a “terrible choice to join a dangerous terrorist organization”.Meanwhile, child welfare groups urged authorities to focus on the children’s welfare. According to the Associated Press, Save the Children Australia CEO Matt Tinkler said the priority now should be to help children “return to a normal life” in Australia.Australia has previously repatriated small groups of women and children from Syrian refugee camps in 2019, 2022 and 2025.Some 21 Australians are believed to remain in al-Roj camp.
polling
Should women returning from conflict zones undergo forced rehabilitation programs?
