AAA<\/p>\n
Two Islamic State-linked women will ask to be released back into the community at a bail hearing on Monday after appearing in court charged with slavery offences.<\/p>\n
Grandmother Kawsar Abbas, 53, and daughter Zeinab Ahmad, 31, were among four women and nine children who arrived in Australia on Thursday night after spending years in a refugee camp in north-east Syria.<\/p>\n
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Two so-called ISIS brides have been charged with slavery offences by the Australian Federal Police. AFP <\/p>\n
The Australian Federal Police announced on Friday morning the pair were charged with enslavement, and using a slave. Abbas, also known as Kawsar Ahmad, was also charged with possessing a slave and engaging in slave trading.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be alleged the woman [Abbas] travelled to Syria in 2014 with her husband and children, and was complicit in the purchase of a female slave for $US10,000 ($13,875) and knowingly kept the woman in the home,\u201d the AFP said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n The offences \u2013 considered \u201ccrimes against humanity\u201d \u2013 each carry a maximum penalty of 25 years\u2019 imprisonment.<\/p>\n Abbas was represented on Friday by high-profile lawyer Bill Doogue, who last year defended killer mushroom cook Erin Patterson.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n She smiled briefly at a group of supporters in the packed courtroom as she walked into the dock.<\/p>\n Prosecutor Andrew Sprague told chief magistrate Lisa Hannan that at least three hours were needed for the bail hearing, where the Crown will push for Abbas and Ahmad to be remanded.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will take at least an hour, hour and a half, to read the summary, your honour,\u201d Sprague said.<\/p>\n The court heard the Commonwealth attorney-general had authorised the unusual charges against the pair, as required by legislation.<\/p>\n Ahmad was expressionless as she walked into the dock. Her lawyer Maya George indicated she would also apply for bail on Monday.<\/p>\n The prosecution also indicated they would apply for a suppression order to protect the identity of an alleged slave victim and witness.<\/p>\n The accused mother and daughter lived in the al-Roj refugee camp for seven years after leaving Australia to join their partners, who were involved with Islamic State. They were detained in the camp by Kurdish forces in March 2019, the AFP said.<\/p>\n Abbas travelled to Syria<\/a> with Zeinab and her other daughter, Zahra, to join her husband and the daughters\u2019 father, Muhammad Ahmed.<\/p>\n The fourth woman who returned to Australia was not arrested. The children will be placed into anti-radicalisation programs and given psychological support as they begin a new life in Australia after spending most of their lives in war zones and decrepit camps.<\/p>\n AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt said the investigation was active and involved \u201cvery serious allegations\u201d.<\/p>\n Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Martin O\u2019Brien said the safety of all Victorians remains paramount.<\/p>\n \u201cVictoria Police will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners and other agencies to ensure there is no risk to our local community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cWe want to reassure all Victorians that anyone residing in our state who has committed serious criminal offences, including those returning from conflict areas, will be held to account.\u201d<\/p>\n The women\u2019s return has been the subject of a heated political debate.<\/p>\n The government has insisted it had no role in their repatriation and said it could do little to intervene as the women were Australian citizens.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has always been the position of this government that we have not assisted the return of any of these people,\u201d Labor senator Tim Ayres told Nine\u2019s Today. \u201c[There are] very strongly held views in the government that they should not have gone in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n Nationals leader Matt Canavan said on Friday morning that the government should have accessed special powers to deny the women entry.<\/p>\n \u201cWe offered to give the government more powers that were rejected,\u201d he told ABC Radio National.<\/p>\n \u201cI think what\u2019s really important now is that the prime minister come out today and explain how this has helped \u2026 and he should explain to Australian people how he\u2019s keeping them safe.\u201d<\/p>\n Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume, appearing on Seven\u2019s Sunrise, echoed Canavan\u2019s comments that the government should have done more to deny passports or issue temporary protection orders.<\/p>\n She raised the case of a young Yazidi woman now living in Australia who was one of the children enslaved by Islamic State families.<\/p>\n \u201cThe trauma this woman has gone through is unimaginable. And now people just like her captors have been invited back to Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n With Brittany Busch<\/p>\n Be the first to know when major news happens. Sign up for breaking news alerts<\/a> on email or turn on notifications in the app.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"AFP](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/45d847ad840407aef2f4b3bdffdbf2c6e055d34a.jpeg\")
AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt.AP<\/p>\n![\"Janai](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778218690_281_57dd76dfe30cbe4657952042a1f6767378547cd4.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Angus](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768742719_841_9074e55c39477e8cc871ddc5bc231809f9f522a3.png\")
Angus Delaney<\/a> is a reporter at The Age. Email him at angus.delaney@theage.com.au or contact him securely on Signal at angusdelaney.31Connect via email<\/a>.![\"Lachlan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f3f0faa45aeb365d7b6cf06085c41167f1e6b728.png\")
Lachlan Abbott<\/a> is a crime reporter at The Age. Previously, he was a city reporter and covered breaking news.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated May 8, 2026 \u2014 1:19pm,first published May 8, 2026 \u2014 8:24am Save You have reached your maximum…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":657072,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-657071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=657071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657071\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/657072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=657071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=657071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=657071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}