Rayann El Houli: Alleged 'ISIS bride' on terror charges to walk free

An Australian woman accused of travelling to Islamic State-controlled Syria and joining the terror group will be released into the community after her risk of reoffending was considered relatively low.

Mother-of-four Rayann El Houli was charged in May with travelling to a declared conflict zone and joining IS.

The 34-year-old’s bid for bail was successful on Monday, with Melbourne magistrate Brett Sonnet accepting a combination of factors including the historical nature of her alleged offending and her role as primary caregiver.

He also took into account her compromised health including post-traumatic stress disorder and potential multiple sclerosis, a lack of prior offending and stable support in the community.

The magistrate placed “significant” consideration on El Houli’s personal circumstances and the potential for significant delay in her case progressing through the courts.

Mr Sonnet also pointed to her living within the community for eight months without incident and her co-operation with authorities.

“In my view, the risk of reoffending is relatively low,” the magistrate said.

She will be subjected to more than a dozen bail conditions, including reporting to police five times a week, surrendering all travel documents and participating in a nominated de-radicalisation program.

Besides a nominated mosque, she is barred from going within 100 metres of any place of worship and must not access any social media or email except from one permitted phone.

The so-called “ISIS bride” allegedly travelled to Syria with her husband and two children to live under IS rule in 2014, Mr Sonnet heard.

Her first and second husbands, both IS members, were killed, and she divorced her third husband. She had two more children in Syria.

El Houli and her kids were detained by Syrian forces after the terror group’s defeat in 2019 and held at the Al-Hawl detention camp in northeast Syria for six years until September when they were smuggled out and returned to Australia.

The mother was living in the community for eight months before she was charged with terrorism offences and taken into custody.

She faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 13 and 14, when Senior Constable Paul Sherlock alleged she had recorded herself showing extremist propaganda to her young children and encouraged them to act like IS fighters.

Guns and other weapons in the home where El Houli lived after her divorce were seen in videos she had sent to family in Australia, the lead investigator said.

Detectives also alleged El Houli attempted to persuade other family and friends to travel to Syria in text messages, including talking about the perks foreign IS members received from the regime.

Prosecutor Andrew Sprague had opposed bail, citing an unacceptable risk to the safety of the community.

Her explanation to a psychologist that she was just performing a role was contradicted by videos of her allegedly showing and encouraging her children with propaganda, he said.

The court was told El Houli had not participated in a de-radicalisation program since her return.

But defence barrister Peter Morrissey SC said El Houli had been experiencing symptoms of multiple sclerosis while juggling a “very stressful life” focusing on caring for her children.

He reiterated his client had renounced violent jihad and IS, having told an earlier hearing she wanted “nothing to do with it - not now, not in the future”.

Her activities in Syria were “very old” from 2018 and of a “naive young woman who drank the Kool-Aid”, Mr Morrissey said.

Her sole focus now was on being a good mum and ensuring her kids were educated, the court was told.

El Houli next faces a committal mention on September 3.