A Sydney woman turned alleged ISIS member has been refused bail, while a mother and daughter charged with enslaving a woman prepare their freedom bid.
The three women allegedly linked to the collapsed terrorist organisation Islamic State have fronted court after returning to Australia from Syria.
Janai Safar, 32, appeared before NSW Bail Court on Friday afternoon seeking bail on charges of entering and remaining in a declared area, and being a member of a terrorist organisation.
Safar is believed to have studied nursing in Sydney before allegedly travelling to Syria in 2015 to join her husband, who previously left Australia and joined ISIS.
Her solicitor Michael Ainsworth argued there was “exceptional circumstances”, warranting Safar’s release on bail.
Mr Ainsworth said the alleged offending was historic, with no suggestion of offending ongoing past 2017, when Safar fled and began living in refugee camps.
He also argued her level of participation in any alleged offending would need to be assessed in court.
“There are questions of (her) degree of involvement and there will be some real issues as to whether her involvement was under her own free will,” Mr Ainsworth said.
Mr Ainsworth argued there would be a significant delay in the matter progressing through court and noted Safar “likely” suffered significant mental and physical health problems due to her time in “truly horrific” refugee camps.
Crown prosecutor Brian Massone conceded Safar would have endured terrible conditions in refugee camps, but argued her charges were too serious to release her on bail.
Mr Massone argued the Crown case was strong, allegedly showing Safar “intentionally” and in a “premeditated” fashion travelled to Syria intending to join ISIS.
Judge Daniel Covington refused bail and ordered Safar return to Downing Centre Local Court via videolink on July 15, 2026.
Meanwhile, Kawsar Ahmad, 54, and Zeinab Ahmad, 31, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday morning – a day after flying back into the country.
The court’s public gallery was packed out with journalists, lawyers and supporters of the two women, with close to a dozen people left standing along the walls.
The mother and daughter were arrested after landing at Melbourne airport on Thursday evening after returning from Syria.
Kawsar Ahmad, also known as Kawsar Abbas, has been charged with four crimes against humanity offences of enslavement, possessing a slave, using a slave and engaging in slave trading.
Zeinab Ahmad, also known as Zeinab Ahmed, is charged with two offences of enslavement and using a slave. Each of the charges against the pair carry a maximum term of 25 years imprisonment if they are found guilty.
Warrants were issued for the pair by a court on February 17, with the AFP citing that they were “returning from extended period overseas”.
First in court, Kawsar Ahmad took a quick glance around courtroom before fixing on a group of supporters and smiling.
Her lawyer, Bill Doogue who represented triple-murderer Erin Patterson, told the court they would be applying for bail on Monday, a move echoed by Zeinab Ahmad’s lawyer Maya George minutes later.
Both women were wearing the outfits they were arrested in on Thursday.
They were supported in court by Abraham Abbas, the brother of Kawsar Ahmad and uncle of Zeinab Ahmad.
Chief Magistrate Lisa Hannan was told the bail application on Monday was expected to run for three hours, with a lengthy summary of the alleged offending to be read.
In relation to Kawsar Ahmad, prosecutors said it will be alleged she has made “statements advocating support for terrorist acts” which had the effect of requiring her to show “exceptional circumstances” justifying bail.
The two women arrived in Australia on Thursday among a cohort of four women and nine children that arrived in Melbourne and Sydney.
There were chaotic scenes at Melbourne’s airport as a number of supporters of the women and children clashed with the media before shepherding the group into a minibus.
Police allege the two women travelled to Syria in 2014 with their families and have been detained by Kurdish forces at the Al Roj camp in the country’s north since March 2019.
It’s alleged the family kept a Yazidi woman, a minority group from northern Iraq, as a slave in the family home.
“It will be alleged the woman travelled to Syria in 2014 with her husband and children, and was complicit in the purchase of a female slave for US$10,000, and knowingly kept the woman in the home,” a statement by the AFP alleges.
According to charge sheets released by the court, it’s alleged the pair exercised control akin to slavery over the woman between about June 1, 2017, and November 1, 2018, at locations in the Deir ez-Zur province of Syria “intentionally or knowingly as part of a widespread or systemic attack directed against a civilian population”.
The court was told all of the charges against both women related to one alleged female victim who the media are barred under federal law from identifying.
After an application by prosecutors, an interim suppression order was made also prohibiting the identification of a second woman.
Prosecutors said this woman was intended to be called as a witness against Kawsar Ahmad and Zeinab Ahmad to give evidence “including interactions with the two accused”.
The court was told this woman was also an alleged victim of slavery-related offences, unrelated to the charges before the court.
“The application is made on the basis of essentially providing equivalent protections for this witness to those afforded to the other complainant,” a prosecutor said.
Another of Ms Abbas’ daughters, Zahra Ahmad, was spotted leaving Melbourne’s airport as a free woman.
Zahra Ahmad was the wife of slain notorious Islamic State recruiter Muhammad Zahab and is not charged with any offence.
The two women were remanded in custody until Monday afternoon.
Outside the court, the mother and daughter’s lawyers declined to comment.
