In briefA woman who returned to Australia in September 2025 from Lebanon has been charged with terrorism offences. The Australian Federal Police allege she had been held in a displaced persons camp before travelling to Australia.
A woman who returned to Australia in September has been charged with terrorism offences, according to Australian Federal Police (AFP) deputy commissioner Hilda Sirec.
A 34-year-old woman is expected to face Melbourne Magistrate’s Court on Thursday afternoon. She faces charges of entering and remaining in a declared conflict zone and being a member of a terrorist organisation.
Both charges carry a maximum penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
The woman had been detained in Syria’s al-Hawl camp since 2019, before her return to Australia from Lebanon with another woman on 26 September, Sirec told a media briefing.
Two groups of women linked to the self-proclaimed Islamic State group (IS) and their children have returned to Australia this month after years in Syria’s al-Roj camp.
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The second group arrived in Sydney and Melbourne on Tuesday, but no arrests were made on arrival.
Three women from the first cohort were arrested after landing in Sydney and Melbourne. Two were charged with crimes against humanity, including slavery. The third woman was charged with a terrorism-related crime.
The arrest was part of Operation Kurrajong, a coordinated operation between federal, state and territory counter-terrorism police, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, investigating Australians alleged to have travelled to Syria and Iraq during the rise of the IS group.
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