An Australian woman who had been rescued from a filthy Syrian prison facility appeared in court on Friday to answer to allegations related to the affiliation of her ex-husband with the Islamic State.
In an effort to rescue Australian women and children from the infamous camps at Al-Hol and Roj, Mariam Raad was returned in October.
The majority of the women were the spouses of IS fighters who had been routed, and they said they had been coerced or deceived into traveling to Syria with their husbands.
The 31-year-old was detained by Australian police on Thursday, who claim that she was aware that her ex-husband, Muhammad Zahab, was a prominent IS recruiter and that she “willingly traveled to the fighting region.”
Raad is accused of entering territory in Syria that was under the authority of IS, a crime under Australian law, and if found guilty, he may spend up to 10 years in prison.
She appeared in court on Friday morning for a brief hearing and was granted bail.
Her bail terms required her to give up her passport and forbid her from seeing “propaganda” for any “terrorist organization.”
“We have zero tolerance for Australians, or anyone, who seek to commit acts of violence or extremism, and those considering doing the wrong thing will come under our notice,” counter-terrorism commander Mark Walton said.
Zahab, a former math teacher in Sydney, was believed to have been killed in an airstrike in 2018, Australian Federal Police said.
Raad returned to Australia alongside three other women and 13 children.
It was the first in a series of planned missions to bring back about 20 Australian women and 40 children detained in Kurdish-controlled northeastern Syria since the 2019 collapse of the IS “caliphate”.
In Australia, where some lawmakers have asserted that the women constitute a risk to national security, the return of the so-called “ISIS brides” has been met with opposition.
Others have thanked the government for saving Australian nationals from “horrific” circumstances, including Human Rights Watch.
Raad relocated to Young, a tiny town located about 370 kilometers (229 miles) west of Sydney, after being sent back home.
