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‘ISIS brides’ on slavery charges will remain behind bars, postponing bail applications
They were led into the courtroom, filled with reporters, with the elder Ahmad wearing a light brown hijab while the younger woman wore a pink and white head covering.
They sat in the dock, flanked by security officers, smiling and watching the courtroom crowd, including supporters, throughout the proceedings.
While their bid for parole stalled today, Zeinab’s lawyers filed a new bail application on June 4 and 5.
Kawsar’s bid will be heard a fortnight later, on June 16 and 17.
Detectives allege Kawsar Ahmad, also known as Abbas, traveled to the region with her husband and children in 2014.
They allege she was complicit in purchasing a slave for $10,000 and knowingly kept the woman in her home.
She has been charged with slavery, ownership of a slave, use of slaves and slave trading.
Based on charge sheets released by the court, it is alleged that the 53-year-old enslaved, possessed and used the slave in Mayadin, Hajin, Gharanji, Bahra, Abu Hamam, Walaa and other places in Deir ez-Zu province of Syria between June 2017 and November 2018.
It is alleged that the younger Ahmad also knowingly kept a female slave in her Syrian home, with police accusing her of slavery and the use of slaves during the same period.
The document said the pair’s conduct was “intentionally or knowingly committed as part of a widespread or systemic attack directed against a civilian population.”
Police said the couple was captured by Kurdish forces in 2019 and held with other family members at the Al Roj camp for internally displaced persons.
They are among three returnees charged after a nearly decade-long investigation that began after the women traveled to the Middle East with their partners, who reportedly planned to fight for Islamic State.
A third woman, 32-year-old Janai Safar, who flew to Sydney, was arrested and charged with entering a restricted area and membership of a terrorist organisation.
She was denied bail due to the seriousness of the charges and will appear in court in July.
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