Overview
- The group, which landed Thursday evening in Melbourne and Sydney, included three women arrested on arrival on slavery and terrorism charges.
- In Melbourne, police charged Kawsar Abbas and her daughter Zeinab Ahmed with crimes against humanity that include enslavement, alleging a Yazidi girl was purchased for $10,000 under ISIS rule.
- In Sydney, Janai Safar was charged with entering a declared ISIS area and membership of a terrorist group, offences that carry potential prison terms of up to 10 years each.
- Authorities say nine accompanying children will enter community integration, therapy, and countering-violent-extremism programs, with police and child-welfare agencies coordinating care if mothers remain in custody.
- Officials stress they did not assist the return and say about 21 Australians remain in Syria’s al-Roj camp, with ongoing investigations and legal tools such as temporary exclusion orders shaping what happens next.