Sydney ‘ISIS bride’ facing terror charges has bail bid rejected

An ISIS bride who was arrested and charged with terror offences after arriving in Sydney from Syria last night will remain behind bars after her application for bail was rejected today.

Janai Safar, 32, appeared in Sydney Downing Centre via video link wearing prison greens and a white hijab, where she was refused bail over charges of entering a prohibited area and being a member of a terrorist organisation.

Both charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Janai Safar was arrested after she landed in Sydney from Syria. (Supplied)

Safar’s lawyer said an issue in the case will be how heavily involved she was with the terror group and whether she was pressured to go along with their activities.

Michael Ainsworth also noted the alleged offending occurred years ago and she was unlikely to reoffend.

“March 2017 is when she effectively leaves Raqqa, which means she’s no longer in the declared zone and certainly no longer declared to be a participant of the organisation,” Ainsworth told the court.

“We’re looking at charges that are now effectively nine years old and offences alleged to be committed by her 12 years ago.”

Kawsar Ahmad, 53, has been charged with four counts of crimes against humanity, including possessing and using a slave. (AAP Image/Anita Lester)

But Judge Daniel Covington ruled she did not meet the exceptional circumstances needed to be granted bail despite her nine-year-old son having never lived away from her.

“The factors have some strength, on the other hand I can’t lose sight of … the serious nature of the charges,” Covington said when denying bail.

Safar will return to court on July 15.

The Sydney woman’s lawyers had sought an “urgent” psychologist report before making a bid for her release, according to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

The AFP, NSW Police Force, ASIO and NSW Crime Commission announced the 32-year-old woman had been charged for allegedly entering and remaining in a declared conflict zone and joining ISIS just after she arrived in Australian soil at 11pm overnight.

Zeinab Ahmad, 31, has been charged with two counts of crimes against humanity.. (AAP Image/Anita Lester)

Two other ISIS brides who were arrested after arriving in Melbourne yesterday have faced court and will make bail applications next week after they were charged with slavery offences allegedly committed during their time in Syria.

The two women, grandmother Kawsar Abbas, 53, and her daughter Zeinab, 31, were taken into custody by federal police as they landed at Melbourne International Airport yesterday evening.

In a packed courtroom, the women appeared separately. The elder woman appeared first, wearing a pink hijab, before the younger woman was led in afterwards, wearing a black hijab.

Janai Safar arrives at Mascot Police Station. (Nine)

They were both remanded in custody until Monday, when they will apply for bail.

Abbas has been charged with four counts of crimes against humanity, including possessing and using a slave, and Zeinab has been charged with two counts of crimes against humanity.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) will allege in court that Abbas travelled to Syria in 2014 with her husband and children, and was complicit in the purchase of a female slave for $US10,000, and knowingly kept the woman in the home.

Officers will allege that 31-year-old Zeinab travelled to Syria in 2014 with her family and knowingly kept a female slave in the home.

Each of the charges carries a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment.

A group of supporters shield recently arrived people with links to Islamic State as they move into a bus outside Melbourne Airport. (Getty)

The return of four women commonly described as “ISIS brides” and nine children, who had spent years living in Syria’s Al-Roj refugee camp after being detained by Kurdish forces in 2019, sparked major police operations at Melbourne and Sydney airports tonight, following weeks of heated on-and-off political debate.

The cohort who followed their ISIS partners to Syria more than a decade ago have faced a long journey in their return to Australia.

The women and their children have been held in refugee camps in north-eastern Syria for years, following the collapse of ISIS, and recently failed in an attempt to leave the camp for Australia earlier this year.

The families left the notorious Al-Roj camp for the Syrian capital in their second bid to return to Australia nearly two weeks ago, and had been waiting in limbo in Damascus since.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Counter Terrorism Stephen Nutt addresses the media. (9News)

On Wednesday, the Australian government confirmed the group had booked flights to Australia.

The women were looking forward to drinking a latte on Melbourne’s Collins Street, according to an ABC journalist on the flight from Doha who spoke to the women before boarding.

Some of the children reportedly have Australian accents, despite being born in Syria and never setting foot in Australia.

The Australian government insists it has not helped the group return to Australia.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Martin O’Brien assured Victorians that authorities would work hard to ensure there was no risk to the community.

“We want to reassure all Victorians that anyone residing in our state who has committed serious criminal offences, including those returning from conflict areas, will be held to account,” O’Brien said.

A woman associated with Islamic State is shielded as she arrives at Melbourne Airport. (Getty)

Former immigration department deputy secretary Abul Rizvi said there was no doubt the government had been “involved in the sense that they’ve had people monitoring these groups”.

“Moreover, when they applied for passports, those passports would have been processed … so in that sense the government was involved,” he said.

“The distinction I think the government is making is they were not involved in the repatriation. They did not arrange or pay for these people to return.”

Rizvi said the return would “set a precedent” for the other women and children connected to ISIS fighters to follow their path.

Janai Safar was travelling with her nine-year-old son. (Nine)

“They will seek to try to return, and we’ll have to wait and see how that plays out,” he said.

Nutt wouldn’t comment on how many other women the AFP was expecting to return home.

He wouldn’t say whether the fourth woman who arrived in Australia tonight would face charges, or detail any plans for monitoring of the children.

After the 32-year-old was charged, Nutt said Joint Counter Terrorism Teams investigated all Australians who went to declared conflict zones and promised to put anyone alleged to have committed a criminal offence before the courts.

A group of supporters shield recently arrived people with links to Islamic State as they arrive at Melbourne Airport. (Getty)

“This remains an active investigation into very serious allegations”.

The opposition had called for the government to cancel their travel documents or make a temporary exclusion order to keep the entire cohort out of the country but the government argued that as Australian citizens they were allowed to travel.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other ministers repeatedly urged the women not to return to Australia.

Nutt last night said whether or not the alleged crimes rose to a level that would justify a temporary exclusion order was a matter for the Home Affairs Department.