Trail of repatriating ISIS-related Australians from NE Syria begins
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Trial is scheduled to commence in Melbourne’s Federal Court to determine the fate of 12 women and 21 children who seek to return to Australia from camps in northeast Syria, for Islamic State (ISIS) family members.
Save the Children initiated a legal battle against the Commonwealth, advocating for the repatriation of this group, which is currently held by the Autonomous Administration of North East Syria (AANES).
The case primarily revolves around allegations of unlawful detention and raises concerns about the inconsistent treatment by past federal governments regarding the return of certain women and children while excluding others.
According to the barrister Emrys Nekvapil SC representing Save the Children, the AANES have expressed its desire for foreign governments, including Australia, to repatriate their citizens from Roj camp, northeast Syria.
For his part, Mat Tinkler, the chief executive of Save the Children Australia, who visited the camp last year, accused the Australian government of abandoning those women and children.
“The government cannot allow these innocent children to suffer further – they must do what is legally and morally right, before it’s too late.”
In 2019, eight children were brought back to Australia, and in October 2022, four women and 13 children were also repatriated.
ISIS lost its final stronghold in Syria in March 2019. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with the support of the US-led Global Coalition, defeated ISIS after fierce battles in the town of Baghuz in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, bringing an end to the so-called caliphate declared by the terrorist ISIS.
After Baghuz, thousands of ISIS fighters were transferred to prisons, while their families were transferred to Hawl and Roj camps in areas held by the AANES.
Issue of ISIS family members held in camps in northeast Syria constitutes an ongoing challenge for the non-internationally recognized AANES, which repeatedly demands that the concerned countries repatriate their nationals.
Also, the AANES continues to call on the international powers to provide support for establishing rehabilitation centers and help in tackling the security situation in the facilities were ISIS foreign nationals are held.
Despite many calls, the majority of countries, including those participating in the Global coalition, refuse to repatriate their nationals.