Wild scenes have unfolded at Melbourne Airport after a group of so-called ISIS brides and their children landed in Australia.
A plane with three of the women arrived at Melbourne Airport about 5.30pm and they were held in customs for hours before two were arrested. The third smiled as she walked free about 9pm shielded from media by a group of large men clad in black.
The flight to Sydney landed at 5.45pm and carried Janai Safar and her son, who were escorted off the plane by a group of AFP officers and taken to Mascot Police Station. Footage of Safar arriving at the station in the backseat of an AFP vehicle about 7pm showed her stoney-faced, if she was anxious about her arrest she didn’t show it.
The cohort from Syria consists of – grandmother Kawsar Abbas, 54, her daughters Zahra Ahmad, 33 and Zeinab Ahmed, 31. there is also former Sydney nursing student Janai Safar, 32 – and the group’s nine children.
Kawsar and her family flew on a Qatar Airway flight via Doha. She is accompanied by her brother, boxing coach Abraham Abbas.
AFP later on Thursday night confirmed Kawsar, 53, and one of her two adult daughters, 31, were arrested upon arrival and charged over serious allegations made by two women from the Yazidi community in Syria.
The AFP said Safar would be charged with entering or remaining in a declared conflict area and being a member of a terrorist organisation. The other two women in Melbourne would be charged with ‘crimes against humanity’ offences.
The group of 13 left Al Roj camp two weeks ago. All of the women and children are Australian citizens and hold Australian passports.
Wild scene unfolded at Melbourne Airport after a group of ISIS brides landed in Australia
In Melbourne two were arrested with family carrying out young children with the group who returned from Syria
In Sydney, Janai Safar (right) was whisked from the airport to Mascot Police Station after landing in Sydney from Syria
It’s understood 21 Australians still remain in the camp, in north-eastern Syria.
Shortly before the planes touched down a large group of supporters, believed to be family and friends, arrived at both Melbourne and Sydney airports.
About a dozen large men dressed in black, some with body-worn cameras and masks, were waiting in Melbourne.
They are understood to be escorts for the women and children.
The supporters were unsure how many of the group would be let through customs following warnings from police that some would be charged.
As of 8pm, none of the group who landed in Melbourne had made it land-side.
Lina Giralda, who was sat near Janai Safar on board the flight to Sydney, said she was shocked when a group of police officers walked on board once the plane had landed.
She said it was ‘scary’ to know she was sat near Safar.
Masked men in Melbourne were part of a group of more then a dozen who waited for the women to be released from customs
The large black-clad men shielded one woman who was allowed to walk free from the media
She got into a waiting minibus as the media pack surrounded the vehicle
At one point one of the men in the group tripped and a small boy had to be picked up from the ground
The flight carrying ISIS brides and children touching down in Melbourne
Federal police earlier warned the former ISIS brides, including Janai Safar (above), could face prosecution upon arrival in Australia
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She said there was no reaction from Safar, her son and a man travelling with them when police came to escort her off the plane.
The passengers had to wait a few minutes for the group to leave the plane before they could disembark.
She said the group didn’t really say much and kept to themselves during the flight.
Another passenger who was on the plane that landed in Sydney said there were ‘five or six’ AFP officers that boarded the flight and tapped the group on the shoulder.
‘They were seated near me. We had some general chit chat, they seemed nice people,’ they said.
‘Then they were taken off by police.’
He said there was no announcement about what was going on by the plane crew to passengers.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said evidence collected since 2015 was used to determine whether the women breached Commonwealth laws, including ‘humanity offences such as engaging in slave trading’.
Security guards prepared for the arrival of the group from Syria
Officers patrolling Sydney International Airport on Thursday night
Reporters ready to capture the group’s arrival
Officers at Sydney International Airport
‘Some individuals will be arrested and charged, some will face continued investigations when they arrive in Australia,’ Ms Barrett said on Wednesday.
If the case went to court it would mark the first time any Australian citizen had been prosecuted for the crimes under domestic law.
ABC News reporter Bridget Rollason spoke to some of the women at Doha Airport while they were in transit.
One of the women said they were escaping the ‘hell’ in Syria to give their children a better life.
‘One woman told me she missed lattes most of all and was looking forward to having a coffee on Collins Street in Melbourne,’ she said.
‘They told me they were really looking forward to getting back to Melbourne and said they missed Australia.
‘Some of the children even had Australian accents, despite being born in Syria.
‘When we spoke to the women, they appeared excited about returning home.
‘We asked how they felt about potentially being arrested, but they declined to comment. One of their uncles told us to stop filming and stop speaking to them. We were only able to have a brief conversation before they boarded the flight.’
More to come…
