Three women linked to Islamic State arrested on return to Australia from Syria
Australian authorities have arrested three women on terrorism-related charges after they returned from years spent in detention camps in Syria. The case has reignited Australia's debate over how to manage citizens with alleged links to Islamic State.
Australian Federal Police arrested three women on terrorism-related charges immediately after they returned to Australia from Syria. The women, whose identities have not been released, had spent years in the al-Hol camp. The charges were laid as they appeared in court for the first time on home soil.
The case has reopened a debate Canberra has long postponed. The continued detention of Australian citizens and their children in north-eastern Syria has been viewed as unsustainable on both human-rights and national-security grounds. The government had earlier this year begun a limited programme to repatriate a small group of women and children.
Opposition parties are pressing for a tougher line on returns, while human-rights advocates argue that bringing citizens home for due process is required under international law. The new arrests will sharpen the political pressure on the federal government as it weighs further decisions on the cases that remain in Syria.
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