Last Islamic State-linked Australian woman from Syrian camp to return despite previous ban
An Australian woman linked to the Islamic State group has been granted permission to return home, facing unprecedented security monitoring after the government was advised it could no longer enforce a criminal exclusion order.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has announced that an Australian woman linked to the Islamic State group has been authorised to return to Australia. The government received legal advice that it could no longer enforce a criminal exclusion order that previously barred her return.
The woman is the last of a group of Australian women and children who sought to return from a refugee camp in northern Syria. They travelled to the Middle East years ago with husbands and fathers who fought for the Islamic State terror group.
Burke told ABC radio that the travel permit is the final stage of the temporary exclusion order process. The original block on her return was issued after advice from spy agency Asio. "The temporary exclusion order applies until a permit is issued. And when a permit is requested, a permit lawfully has to be issued," he said.
The minister said he worked with his department, agencies, Australian Federal Police and Asio to impose the strictest possible conditions on the permit. "We received the final advice yesterday that we can no longer have an exclusion condition any longer for her," he added.
The woman will be monitored at home and in the community. The conditions require her to give 24 hours' notice before using a communication device, such as a mobile phone or a public payphone. "There will be a very high level of scrutiny and surveillance," Burke said. "That’s the absolute legal limit we’ve been able to go to and our agencies are ready."
Her return in coming days will spark renewed political criticism of Labor’s handling of the group. The women and children spent over a decade in the Middle East – first under Islamic State rule, then in squalid detention camps after escaping the violent end of the so-called caliphate. Some children were born in the camp and have never lived normal lives in Australia. Several group members have already faced criminal charges after returning, including alleged enslavement, joining a prescribed terror group and crimes against humanity.
