The federal government has warned some members of the so-called ISIS bride group may face the “full force of the law” after refusing a recent attempt from some trying to leave Syria.
They are all part of the larger group of 34 Australians – 11 women dubbed the ISIS brides and 23 children – who have spent seven years at the remote facility following the fall of the caliphate in 2019.
The Australian government is refusing to help the group. (9News)
Syria’s information ministry told the Associated Press the group of 13 were turned back before reaching the airport after the foreign ministry was informed that “the Australian government had refused to receive them”.
“These families are still awaiting a solution, which can only be achieved through co-ordination with the relevant international parties,” the information ministry said.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told reporters this morning the government’s position remains unchanged: “We will not repatriate. We will not assist.”
He suggested some of the members of the group could face the “full force of the law” if they returned to Australia.
“This is not a cohesive group, so we shouldn’t be expecting that every individual will have the identical legal challenges of some,” he said.
“I leave it to the Australian Federal Police to make announcements or to choose not to make announcements. There is no way I will interfere with anything operationally.
“But I will say this: anyone who has broken the law will face the full force of the law and I suspect some of these individuals will be weighing up whether they want to come back to Australia ever.”
The US has also been pressuring countries to repatriate their citizens from the Al-Roj camp.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he has “indicated our position for some time”.
Yesterday, Albanese and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong both told reporters that the government was not helping nor repatriating the group.
The group had attempted to return to Australia in February but were forced to return to the camp on an unspecified technicality.
Burke was able to temporarily ban one woman from entering Australia but had no legal grounds to deny passports or temporarily ban any others.
The group’s inevitable return and recent attempts have sparked fierce debate, with Labor and the Coalition agreeing the group should not be allowed into the country, while the Greens and organisations such as Save the Children Australia are calling for the children to be returned safely.
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