Australian women face charges on return from Syria : NPR
NPR • • world
Key Points:
- Australian authorities announced that several women with alleged ties to Islamic State militants and their children will be arrested and investigated upon return from Syria, following bookings on flights from Damascus to Australia.
- Since 2015, the Australian Federal Police have been investigating Australians who traveled to the Islamic State caliphate, focusing on terrorism offenses and crimes against humanity such as slave trading.
- The women were previously held in Roj Camp near the Syria-Iraq border and left recently; the Australian government has refused to assist their repatriation but must provide travel documents.
- Australia uses temporary exclusion orders to prevent high-risk individuals from returning, with penalties of up to 10 years in prison for unauthorized travel to IS strongholds, but these orders cannot be applied to children under 14, who will instead receive counter-extremism programs.
- Despite the defeat of Islamic State territory in Syria, militants and their families remain detained in camps or transferred to Iraq for trial, with Australia having repatriated some women and children on previous occasions, though some have returned without government assistance.
