An ISIS bride accused of committing slavery offences has been granted bail by a Melbourne magistrate.
Melbourne grandmother Kawsar Ahmad (also known as Abbas), 54, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmad, 31, were arrested at Melbourne Airport by a joint counter-terrorism team upon their return to Australia from Syria in May this year.
Ms Ahmad faces four charges over allegations she participated in the enslavement of a teenaged Yazidi woman in Syria.
Chief Magistrate Lisa Hannan on Friday ordered Ms Ahmad’s release from custody, suggesting strict bail conditions were sufficient to mitigate the risk she posed.
Her brother will guarantee a $75,000 surety, and Ms Ahmad is required to comply with nightly curfews, report to police thrice weekly, and surrender any travel documents.
She must also provide the Australian Federal Police with a mobile number and PIN. She may only own a single phone and may not conduct calls with anyone outside Australia.
It is alleged Ms Ahmad and her husband Mohammad, an IS militant, moved to Syria a decade ago, where he bought the alleged slave for $10,000 in 2017.
Yazidis are an ethno-religious minority in Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran, who were widely massacred and trafficked during the 2010s during Islamic State’s war in the region.
Federal police allege the girl was repeatedly raped and beaten by Ms Ahmad’s partner.
Ms Ahmad and her daughter, Zeinab, were detained by Kurdish forces in March 2019 and held with other family members in the al-Roj displaced person’s camp in northeastern Syria.
The lawyer acting for Ms Ahmad earlier this week told the court she would live a “small and local life” if bailed.
He said she would not proselytise nor engage with mosques if she were released, following concerns from police prosecutors.
Police prosecutors had alleged Ms Ahmad had taught religious studies to the alleged slave who felt “threatened” by her.
A forensic psychologist diagnosed Ms Ahmad with a string of interrelated anxiety and depression-related disorders, the court heard this week during the bail hearing.
He told the court she was so focused on spending time with her relatives she was “very unlikely to want to leave the house much”, according to the ABC.
It comes as Ms Ahmad’s daughter, Zeinab, last week was ordered to remain behind bars as she was found to pose an unreasonable risk to the community.
It is alleged Zeinab prevented a Yazidi slave from leaving her home and ordered her to do chores around the house.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) alleged Zeinab “mistreated” the girl, though it is not alleged she physically assaulted her.
Her two charges each carry a penalty of 25 years behind bars if she is found guilty.
Judge Hannan accepted Zeinab could face delays in her case and that the 31-year-old’s daughter was experiencing hardships.
She also found Zeinab needed to prove “exceptional circumstances” for requiring bail, given her past support of Islamic State.
Federal police argued Zeinab posed an unacceptable risk to the public and had not renounced her previous support for jihadists.
Judge Hannan agreed there was a lack of compelling evidence regarding Zeinab’s current beliefs and found she posed a threat to the community.