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One woman linked to ISIS has been taken into custody by federal police after two flights carrying several Australians arrived in Australia from Syria.
The group of Australians linked to the terror group are due move through Melbourne and Sydney airports on Thursday, after fleeing the al-Roj detention camp in Syria’s northeast.
9News reports one woman – Janai Safar – has already been taken into custody by Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers.
The outlet reports she will not leave through the arrivals gates with others on her flight.
Overnight, Syrian officials told the ABC the Australian government was the “deciding factor” in the departure of the group from Syria.
But the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said there had been no contact with Syrian officials regarding the women and children.
“The Australian Government is not repatriating people from Syria,” a spokesperson said.
The government’s ability to provide consular assistance is limited due to the dangerous security situation in Syria – along with the lack of an embassy or consulate.
Smartraveller still advises Australians not to travel at all to Syria due to the threat of “armed conflict, air strikes, terrorism, arbitrary detention and kidnapping”.
There is a heavy media presence awaiting the group’s arrival at Melbourne Airport.
A group of men dressed in hoodies and wearing face coverings, who are believed to be supporters, are gathered at the arrivals gate.
One man waiting for a woman arriving from Doha told the media not to record them, repeating “she’s not with them” and “she has nothing to do with them”.
Despite a quiet afternoon in terminal of Sydney International Airport, a heavy security presence was evident as AFP officers patrolled the arrivals hall.
Passengers who have disembarked from the Qatar Airways flight in Sydney have said they were told by cabin crew to remain seated on the aircraft as several uniformed police officers boarded the plane.
One passenger, Lina, said she saw a man, a woman and a child escorted off the plane from their economy seats, and several police cars waiting on the tarmac.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed on Wednesday four women and nine children had made plans to travel home.
The Albanese government has insisted the cohort has received no assistance from Australia and will face the “full force of the law” upon arrival.
The Australian reported overnight the cohort included Sydney nursing student Janai Safar and her son, Melbourne grandmother Kawsar Abbas, her adult daughters Zahra and Zeinab, and their respective children.
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said some individuals in the group would be arrested after landing in the country, while others would continue to be investigated.
She said children would be asked to participate in “community integration programs, therapeutic support, and countering violent extremism” programs.
“For more than a decade, investigators, when possible, have been collecting evidence and information in Syria at a time when Syria was a war zone with no functioning government,” Ms Barrett said.
“That evidence and information was to determine whether Australians who travelled to Syria may have committed Commonwealth offences, including terrorism offences such as entering, or remaining in, declared areas, and crimes against humanity offences, such as engaging in slave trading.”
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon, speaking to 2GB on Thursday morning, would not detail if there would be footage of the arrest, saying it was a decision for the AFP.
He confirmed NSW Police would have a heavy presence at Sydney Airport ahead of some of the group’s arrival.
“I think the announcement has had significant public interest. So we’ll certainly have a policing presence, as will the (Australian Federal Police), just to make sure there’s no breach of the peace,” he said.
“Just to make sure that any people that may attend in support or against the people returning to Australia aren’t unruly and behave.”
Mr Lanyon was also asked what would happen to children in the group, if their accompanying adult was arrested.
“We would work very closely with any relatives of that child, or certainly, if not, the Department of Communities and Justice will work closely to make sure that child is taken care of.
“It is important we take care of any children who may be present.”
NSW Premier Chris Minns echoed this sentiment, telling reporters in Sydney: “The kids have got nothing to do with this.”
“They didn’t make the decision to travel to Syria and the Middle East. And we’ve got an obligation to make sure that they’re safe,” he said.
“As it relates to the parents … it was a shocking thing to do to go and join what is the most repugnant, horrible, ideological, violent terrorist organisation, perhaps the world has ever seen.”
Advocates have urged state and federal authorities to ensure the group’s human rights are respected, with Amnesty International spokesman Zaki Haidari saying it is essential regardless of “how difficult or sensitive” the situation may be.
“These women and children were detained arbitrarily and they have a right to be treated with humanity and dignity,” Mr Haidari said.
“In particular, these children were the victims and under international law, the interest of children is a primary consideration and they have a right to safety and a future.”
But while the welfare of these children was a concern, opposition home affairs spokesman Jonno Duniam told Sky News the government could not “ignore a risk that may present in children that have either gone there very young, and grown up among the ISIS view of the world … or have been born there”.
He also pointed to a report in The Australian alleging the family of one of the women travelling to Australia kept a Yazidi woman as a slave in Syria, saying the government could not “turn a blind eye” to the claim.
“We’ve heard some hideous reports and allegations of links to the families associated with some of the ISIS brides around the enslavement of Yazidi, a group of whom live now here in Australia, having fled those associated with ISIS,” he said.
More to come
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