Facts
Kawsar Abbas travelled to Syria in 2014 with her husband and children, including her daughter Zeinab Ahmad. Kawsar Abbas is suspected of being complicit in the purchase of a female slave and of knowingly having kept the woman in the home.
Procedure
The Australian government have been preparing for the return of ISIS-linked Australians from Syria since 2015.
Kawsar Abbas was detained by Kurdish forces in March 2019 and held with other family members in Al Roj Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp.
On 7 May 2026, Kawsar Abbas was arrested, with her daughter Zeinab Ahmad, on arrival into Melbourne International Airport and was charged, on 8 May 2026, with crimes against humanity including enslavement and using a slave, and with possessing a slave and engaging in slave trading.