ISIS-linked cohort on their way home to Australia, government confirms
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: A group of Australian women linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group are on their way home, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has confirmed.
The context: Burke confirmed on Wednesday that the group includes four women and nine children, who have been stranded in Syrian refugee camps since the fall of ISIS’ self-declared Caliphate.
Burke said the mothers had “made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation”.
“Certainly, from the moment the individuals left the camp, it was clear that they would be trying to leave Damascus and to leave somewhere,” Burke said.
“The alert is received the moment the booking takes place. That was provided to us this morning, and we made that public this morning.”
The Albanese government has consistently insisted it is not assisting the women to leave Syria, but it is hamstrung in its ability to prevent them from returning to Australia once they had exited the camps.
Australian citizens are entitled to passports apart from in very narrow circumstances.
“The legal threshold that we have is with respect to temporary exclusion orders,” Burke said.
“I have received advice in one instance so far of that threshold having been met. When I received that advice, I acted immediately, and that exclusion order remains in place.”
Addressing the media alongside Burke on Wednesday, ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said he was not “concerned immediately” by the cohort’s imminent return, which would not change the national terrorism threat level of probable.
“Of course, it’s up to them what they do when they get here. If they start to exhibit signs that concern us, we … will take action,” Burgess said.
Australian Federal Police commissioner Krissy Barrett would not reveal whether any women in the cohort would be arrested on arrival.
But she did confirm that at least some Australians currently stranded in Syrian refugee camps would face charges — ranging from terror offences, crimes against humanity, and engaging in slave trading — upon return.
Others would face “continued investigations” while in Australia, Barrett said.
“I will not flag how many individuals will be arrested or when they will be arrested, to protect a number of our investigations,” she said.
Barrett confirmed the children of any women arrested would undergo community integration programs, therapy, and countering violent extremism programs.
What they said: “The government is not repatriating and will not repatriate. The government is not assisting and will not assist these individuals,” Burke said.
“They made an appalling, disgraceful decision. If any of these individuals find their way back to Australia, if they have committed crimes, they can expect to face the full force of the law, without exception.”
The source: Tony Burke, Mike Burgess, Krissy Barrett press conference
