What we covered today
Thanks for joining the national news live blog for Tuesday, May 26.
Here were the big stories:
- Two planes carrying 19 Australian women and children linked to Islamic State landed in Melbourne and Sydney this evening. In both cities, the families accepted government support and were transported out of the terminals. No charges were laid, but the investigations into the group continue. The latest arrivals come after four women and nine children returned to Australia earlier this month following more than seven years in a Syrian camp. Two of the women in the earlier group were arrested at Melbourne Airport and charged with slavery offences, while one in Sydney was charged with terror-related offences, including allegedly joining Islamic State.
- In Melbourne, while there were not the chaotic scenes of three weeks ago, a photographer claimed he was hit in the face by his camera when a guard linked to the women pushed at his lens.
- A year after a disabled Aboriginal man’s death in an Alice Springs supermarket, his family has learnt today that the two plain-clothes officers who forcibly restrained him will not be charged. Kumanjayi White’s family has released a statement saying they are heartbroken over the news.
- Two people have been arrested as part of the investigation into the movements of police killer Dezi Freeman, coincidentally as Victoria’s coroner continues to hear evidence about the final moments of the two police officers Freeman killed last August.
- Electricity prices are expected to fall in most states over the next year after the energy regulator dropped the benchmark price. Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Australia’s uptake of renewable energy, as well as reforms to the default market offer contributed to the decrease.
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And the US military carried out strikes on Monday in southern Iran against targets including boats attempting to lay mines and missile launch sites, in what Central Command described as defensive action.
No charges for latest group of ‘ISIS brides’
NSW Police has just confirmed the four women and their six children have been driven from Sydney Airport.
The women accepted an offer of support from the NSW Department of Communities and Justice and are in its care.
They were driven away in two cars and left the airport via a side exit.
We’ve also received an official statement from the federal police, NSW and Victoria Police on their activities this evening:
“The cohort was subject to a range of operational responses, including the searching of belongings and the downloading of their devices for investigative purposes. No one arriving within this cohort has been charged. However, investigations into the activities of Australians who travelled to Syria – including those who have since returned – are ongoing.”
“Police and the [joint counterterrorism teams] will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure community safety is upheld.”
Tense scenes at Melbourne Airport
We’re learning more about what happened at Melbourne Airport once this evening’s cohort of so-called ISIS brides and their children landed.
Per our reporters: “In Melbourne, the Australian Federal Police told reporters about two hours after the women and children arrived that they’d been processed and let out a side door. Melbourne Airport said the operation was handled by Australian Border Force, which was approached for comment.”
“The group were allowed to leave through an outside door leading directly to the concourses at the airport, rather than through the usual arrivals gate where media were waiting A News Corporation photographer, Jason Edwards, said ‘guards’ linked to the women had pushed at his camera as he ran to photograph them, hitting his face.”
We’ve also received some images below, which do not show that particular confrontation.
Women still at Sydney Airport
NSW Police have confirmed that the women who arrived in Sydney have not yet left the airport.
The women and children are still being processed, with the timeline for their release still unclear.
‘ISIS brides’ leave Melbourne Airport through side door
The arriving so-called ISIS brides have left Melbourne Airport after being let out through an alternative exit.
The Australian Federal Police confirmed a “cohort” had been processed and allowed to go. The AFP said it had no role in facilitating their departure.
The group were allowed to leave through a door leading directly to the outside concourses at the airport, rather than having to exit through the usual arrivals gate, where media were waiting – though some news photographers managed to spot them as they left.
Three men wearing black hoodies and face coverings had been waiting at the arrivals gate for the group, alongside the press pack, but swiftly left when the families exited through the side door.
This masthead has confirmed that one of the women who arrived is Kirsty Rosse-Emile.
What we know about the one remaining ‘ISIS bride’ in Syria
A woman who was prevented from returning to Australia in February by a temporary exclusion order did not travel with the groups that have landed in Melbourne and Sydney tonight.
The woman, aged about 29, had remained at the al-Roj Syrian refugee camp with her daughter, who has been left disabled by shrapnel wounds, The Australian newspaper reported.
The woman left her Sydney home at the age of 18 in 2015 to marry an Islamic State fighter in Syria, the newspaper reported.
Their family has engaged a Sydney lawyer to challenge the exclusion order, which would bar the mother from Australia until February 2028.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament earlier today: “I have nothing but contempt for anyone who has any sympathy for ISIS.”
AP
Families of Islamic State-linked women ‘not at Sydney Airport’
The families of the four women and six children who have arrived in Sydney from Syria tonight are not at the airport, a source close to the process has confirmed.
The source also said the women would most likely take up an offer of support and transport from the NSW Department of Communities and Justice.
The source asked to remain anonymous due the sensitivity around the situation.
Sydney flight carrying ‘ISIS brides’ lands
The Qatar Airways flight carrying four women and their six children from Syria has landed in Sydney.
According to FlightRadar24, the flight arrived at 5.34pm.
There is still no sign of family or supporters of the group among the people waiting for the arrivals at Terminal A.
It is also unclear if the women will accept NSW government support to leave the airport or exit via the public terminal.
The ‘ISIS brides’: How we got here
As we wait to see whether the so-called ISIS brides and their families make a public arrival in Melbourne and Sydney, here is some context.
“The Australian government can confirm seven women and 12 children from the Australian cohort in Syria have made plans to travel to Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement this afternoon.
“The government has not and will not provide any assistance to this group. These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation. As we have said many times, any members of this cohort who have committed crimes can expect to face the full force of the law.”
Law enforcement and intelligence agencies have prepared for such returns for more than a decade and have plans to monitor those arriving, the government said.
Previous return of ‘ISIS brides’ traumatised children, families say
The kid-gloves treatment at Sydney Airport is a tacit admission that authorities badly mishandled the previous return of women and children on May 7, when there were frenzied scenes including airport arrests, private security guards and a scuffle at Melbourne Airport.
Sources close to the returned families say those events traumatised children already extremely fragile after growing up for seven years in camps.
However, government sources who cannot be named because they are not authorised to speak publicly, have said some women may be charged quietly in coming days with a number of crimes.
No arrests expected when ‘ISIS brides’ land in Sydney
No arrests are expected in Sydney tonight involving the women arriving from Syria, a NSW police official said.
The arriving four women and six children will be offered support from the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, including health support and transport out of the airport.
But it will be up to the women to decide if they take up the offer or leave the airport via the public terminals.
It remains unclear if any family members or supporters will be at the airport to welcome them.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
