‘ISIS bride’ Janai Safar refused bail after arrest on terror charges

“ISIS bride” Janai Safar has been refused bail and will remain in Sydney’s Silverwater Correctional Complex following her return to Australia from Syria.

Wearing prison greens with a white hijab, the 32-year-old appeared in online bail court by video on Friday afternoon. She sat dispassionately, bowing her head when the court heard about the impact her incarceration would have on her family.

Safar was arrested after arriving back in Australia on Thursday night, having spent close to a decade detained at a camp in Syria after the fall of the Islamic State.

She was charged with entering a prohibited area and being a member of a terrorist organisation. Both offences carry a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment.

Defence barrister Michael Ainsworth said she should be released on bail, arguing the delay in bringing proceedings, questions about her level of involvement in the alleged crimes, and her physical and psychological condition, presented exceptional circumstances for release.

“There’ll be some real issues about … whether her involvement is of her own free will, or that she was coerced, or under some duress, or she was saying certain things because she was in fear of retribution,” he said.

Ainsworth said Safar required “urgent” medical attention for issues arising from periods of malnutrition and the unhygienic conditions of the refugee camp. He said she was also likely to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological conditions.

“This young lady [has] lived in truly horrific conditions in these refugee camps for many years,” he said.

“She’s been in a situation that is in itself custodial in another country.”

Crown prosecutor Brian Massone said the Crown’s case was “very strong and straightforward”.

“[Safar] intentionally left Australia in a premeditated and considered fashion to join an organisation whose aims were diametrically, and in fact remain diametrically opposed, to the values of any decent and reasonable person,” he said.

Massone said the Crown had messages allegedly sent by Safar to her mother showing she was a member of Islamic State, or was taking steps to join it.

“[This was] an organisation which was responsible for sowing misery, destruction and discord throughout the Middle East and the world … and a designated terrorist organisation,” he said.

Judge Daniel Covington noted there were no allegations of further offending after 2017, when she entered the refugee camp in Raqqa, Syria.

However, he said there was no evidence presented about her psychological conditions or the beliefs she now held.

“This is a unique matter that’s rarely been tried in this country,” he said, ruling her case did not meet the exceptional circumstances required for release.

She will next face court on July 15.

A bail application seen exclusively by this masthead stated Safar wants to finish her nursing degree, and was “vulnerable and alone” when living in Syria.

The application also includes information about Safar’s travel history, marriage and health.

It remains unclear how Safar ended up under Islamic State territory. The application outlines that she was supposed to be visiting family in Lebanon, and then travelling to Turkey. But after that, her father is unsure about how and when she travelled to the so-called caliphate.

Safar was a nursing student and one of seven sisters, none of whom have had any issues with the law. She was also her father’s favourite.

Her father does not know the details surrounding her marriage, but what is known is that she was married to an Australian man and was residing in Syria some time after her trip to Turkey.

The application reports that the husband was killed in a motor vehicle accident soon after.

Safar remained in contact with her father during her time in Syria, but the bail application said she was under constant surveillance by Islamic State figures whilst there, and that she could never speak freely.

She said she had handlers the entire time she resided in IS territory, and said that she felt “vulnerable and alone” at the time.

The application also details Safar’s extensive medical challenges, including kidney problems that have so far received poor treatment.

She did not have access to proper healthcare services while in the camps, and has been waiting to see a specialist for more than eight years, it states.

The application also states that she is suffering from PTSD. It adds that Safar intends to complete her nursing degree and wishes to be a positive role model for her family.

“It will be alleged the woman travelled to Syria in 2015 to join her husband, who had previously left Australia and joined ISIS,” the Australian Federal Police said in a statement.

In Melbourne, grandmother Kawsar Abbas, 54, and 31-year-old daughter Zeinab were arrested at the airport after arriving from Sydney in a group of 11 people.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt said a 54-year-old woman was due to be charged with four crimes-against-humanity offences: enslavement, use of a slave, possession of a slave and slave trading. The offences all carry a maximum jail term of 25 years.

The 31-year-old woman will be charged with enslavement and use of a slave.

A group of men arrived at the airport to escort the women and their children home, telling reporters they just “wanted to get them out of here peacefully”.

As they begin their new life in Australia, the children will be inducted into deradicalisation programs and provided psychological support after spending much of their lives in war zones and decrepit camps.

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