Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed on Thursday that the last Australian woman detained in a Syrian camp for families of Daesh fighters has been granted permission to return to Australia under stringent conditions. The 29-year-old former Sydney resident and her nine-year-old daughter had been held at the Roj camp.
Exclusion Order Prevents Earlier Return
The woman initially planned to return in February with a group of Australian women and children but was blocked by a temporary exclusion order. Australia implemented these orders in 2019 to prevent defeated Daesh fighters from returning from the Middle East for up to two years. She is the only known individual to be targeted by such an order.
Burke stated that the government could no longer legally prevent her return after her lawyers applied for a permit. Police and security agencies will enforce strict conditions upon her arrival, including mandatory reporting of her residence, employment, studies, and travel plans.
Extensive Surveillance Measures
Burke outlined the rigorous monitoring requirements: “Even if you want to use a public phone, it’s 24 hours notice. Any social media, 24 hours notice on everything has to be given so that there will be a very high level of scrutiny and surveillance and we have gone absolutely to the legal limit that we’re able to,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Opposition lawmakers criticized the government for not amending the law to prevent her return. The government stated the exclusion order was issued on national security grounds but did not provide specific details.
Legal and Investigative Context
The woman’s lawyer, Moustafa Kheir, did not respond to requests for comment. The Australian Federal Police have been investigating Australians who traveled to the region since 2015, when Daesh declared its caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria. It remains unclear whether the woman will be arrested upon arrival.
In a related development, three of four women who arrived in Australia with nine children on May 7 were arrested on arrival and charged with terrorism and slavery offenses. They have been denied bail and remain in custody. The woman was 18 years old when she left Sydney for Syria in 2015.
