A group of 19 Australian women and children linked to the Islamic State group had booked flights to return from Syria and some could face charges, the government said on Tuesday.
The seven women and 12 children were expected to arrive in Sydney and Melbourne on Tuesday, less than three weeks after another group of 13 people in similar situations returned to the country. Three of the four women on the previous flights were charged with slavery and terrorism offenses and jailed.
Home minister Tony Burke said any of the 19 people could “expect to face the full force of the law” if they had committed crimes.
“The government has not and will not provide any assistance to this group,” he said.
“These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation.”
Australian law-enforcement and intelligence agencies have been preparing for their return since 2014 and have long-standing plans in place to manage and monitor them, Mr Burke said.
“The priority of the government, as always, is the safety of the Australian community,” he said.
After the departure of the latest group, at least two Australians would remain in Roj camp, a location in northeast Syria where people linked to the Islamic State were detained after the group was defeated in 2019.
A mother who was prevented from returning to Australia in February by a temporary exclusion order wasn’t traveling with the group.
The government revealed earlier that one of the women at Roj was subject to an order that could be used to prevent high-risk citizens from returning for up to two years.
Exclusion orders were created by laws introduced in 2019 to prevent defeated Islamic State fighters from returning to Australia.
The last Australian cohort returned from Syria on 7 May.
Kawsar Ahmed, also known as Kawsar Abbas, 53, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmed, 31, were arrested when they landed in Melbourne over allegations that their family had bought a female Yazidi slave.
Janai Safar, 32, was arrested at the Sydney airport when she arrived with her 9-year-old son on charges of being a member of a terrorist organisation and with entering or remaining in a region controlled by a terrorist group.
Australia has repatriated its citizens from Syrian detention camps on two occasions. Other Australians have returned quietly without government assistance.
