Banned ‘ISIS bride’ prevented from boarding flight back to Australia, ABF boss confirms

An ISIS-linked Australian woman banned from returning after travelling to Syria to join the terrorist organisation had attempted to board a flight in Damascus, Australian Border Force Commissioner Gavan Reynolds has confirmed.

The mother, believed to be western Sydney woman Hodan Abby, had been attempting to return to Australia with a group of 19 from the al-Roj camp in Kurdish-controlled north-eastern Syria.

However, authorities were alerted at the airport to a Temporary Exclusion Order which had been issued against her in February.

During an appearance before Senate Estimates on Wednesday, Commissioner Reynolds confirmed the woman had been prevented from boarding the flight after an alert of the TEO was received by airport staff.

The ABF Commissioner was also asked why there was a varied approach to how the women and children were removed from the arrivals hall after landing.

In Melbourne, a violent scuffle broke out after two of the women and children were shepherded out of a side door.

The group who touched down in Sydney didn’t get similar treatment away from awaiting media cameras, nor did the previous group who arrived earlier in May.

Commissioner Reynolds said that each team on the ground “were well placed” to decide how they handled the arrangements.

In the session, Home Affairs officials also repeatedly refused to reveal specific operational details for the monitoring of the rest of group which made it to Australia on Tuesday.

Department of Home Affairs chief Stephanie Foster was pressed by Liberal Senator Jonno Duniam on the surveillance and deradicalisation plan for the group.

Many of the women had been families of ISIS fighters who travelled to the region from as early as 2014 for the would-be caliphate.

Their return in two groups — one on May 7 and another on May 26 has sparked political debate over how Australia handles citizens who traveled to Syria.

Three of four women in the first group were arrested upon arrival over serious allegations including slavery.

Ms Foster confirmed that no members of the second group had been arrested after landing in Sydney and Melbourne on Tuesday but investigations were ongoing.

“Of the cohort which arrived last night, none of the women were arrested on arrival as was the case with the first cohort,” Ms Foster said.

“But the activities of the law enforcement and the intelligence agencies in regard to the women who returned are ongoing.

“So, they remain under consideration.”

Joint Counter Terrorism teams had immediately seized and downloaded the group’s electronic devices upon arrival.

Ms Foster handballed questions about the specific operational details of their management plan to upcoming Senate Estimates sessions on Thursday.

She said Australian Federal Police Commission Krissy Barrett and Australian Security Intelligence Organisation boss Mike Burgess would be “better placed” to answer Senator Duniam’s questions.

“Home Affairs plays a role with law enforcement intelligence agencies in ensuring there is a plan in place but the actual execution of that plan is done primarily by the State and Territory law enforcement agencies.

“And obviously, any activities AFP and ASIO do to supplement that.”

Ms Foster added that she didn’t personally know where the cohort were after their arrival, only that via media reports she understood they were in Sydney or Melbourne.

Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Brendan Dowling reiterated that it was for states and territories to organise their management plan.

Mr Dowling said the Federal government provided jurisdictions with funding through a countering violent extremism program which would support the groups.

“The State governments will implement the supports under that program in a manner which suits the individual,” he said.

“So, generally speaking, there will be a case management approach.

“There will be broad consideration of the types of engagements that will need to happen but it’s not a static plan.

“They will be determining what the appropriate next steps of engagement might be.

“That could go to health services which might be referrals to appropriate health care.

“It could go to understanding what support is being provided by family members and where gaps might be.

“It could go to information about schools, it could go to information about employment services that might be available and it could go to the nature of any counselling support.”

Department bureaucrat Sarah Vrh said the funding available to jurisdictions included $15.424 million for New South Wales and $16.28 million for Victoria between 2025 and 2028.

Ms Foster said State’s had contacted her concerned about the financial burden the group imposed on their jurisdictions but couldn’t recall which had formally requested extra funding.

However, Ms Foster insisted the matter was resolved when she explained their total funding package could be used in a “flexible way” to aid their management program.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles reiterated the government’s position that it didn’t assist the group’s return to Australia.

“I make a couple points. There has been no assistance, no assistance provided by the government in relation to any of those returning from that part of the world,” he told reporters in Perth.

“Secondly, there’s absolutely no sympathy whatsoever for people who made their own decisions to go and participate in that conflict.

“That is a decision which should be condemned, and we’ve been doing that.

“And finally, we have security agencies which monitor these situations very closely, and we have complete faith in them.”

Home Affairs Tony Burke was asked about charges for the second group during parliament question time on Wednesday but instead only raised the previous three arrests.

After she was blocked from boarding with her nine-year-old disabled daughter, Ms Abby’s family has reportedly engaged Birchgrove Legal principal solicitor Moustafa Kheir to challenge the TEO.