In a controversial move, Australia has temporarily barred a citizen linked to the Islamic State (IS) group from returning to the country for up to two years. This decision comes amidst a larger debate about the repatriation of Australian citizens who joined the IS and are now stranded in Syria. The individual in question is part of a group of 34 Australian women and children who attempted to return home after being released from a Syrian camp earlier this week, only to be turned back by Syrian authorities for 'technical reasons'.
The ban was issued based on advice from security agencies, according to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke. However, legal experts have warned that the government has an obligation to allow citizens the right of return. In response to reports that the group had valid Australian passports, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that his government would not 'breach Australian law'.
This group, believed to be made up of the wives, widows, and children of IS fighters, is among dozens of Australians who have been held in camps and prisons across Syria since 2019, when IS was driven from its final foothold in the country. Opposition politicians have raised security concerns about the possibility of these Australians' return, with Liberal Party Senator Jonno Duniam suggesting that more of the group should be barred. The al-Roj camp, where the individual in question is held, is home to over 2,000 others from 40 different nationalities, mainly women and children, including Shamima Begum, who was stripped of her British citizenship in 2019 on national security grounds.
The director of the camp, Hakmiyeh Ibrahim, has appealed to all countries that have citizens held in limbo there to take them back. She emphasized the negative impact on the children, who are growing up surrounded by 'dangerous ideas and ideologies'. Several other foreign governments, including France, the Netherlands, and the UK, have also refused to repatriate most of their citizens still held in Syria, highlighting a global challenge in dealing with the aftermath of the IS conflict.
