Australian ISIS Bride Renounces Islamic State in Court
An Australian woman who joined ISIS in Syria has formally renounced the terrorist group and its ideology, her lawyer said at a Melbourne bail hearing where she faces terrorism charges.
Rayann El Houli, aged 34, appeared before the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday facing serious terrorism charges related to her time in the so-called Islamic State caliphate. According to Breitbart News, her lawyer told the court she has rejected ISIS and violent extremism entirely.
El Houli is one of several Australian women who became known as “ISIS Brides” after relocating to Syria between 2013 and 2014 to wed Islamic State combatants. She returned to Australian soil in September alongside her sister and four children. Authorities arrested her last Thursday and formally charged her with entering a declared conflict zone and membership in a terrorist organization. Each charge carries a potential sentence of up to ten years behind bars.
The bail application was adjourned to allow the defense additional time to secure expert witnesses. During the hearing, El Houli wore a blue hijab, which Senior Counsel Peter Morrissey described as an act of good faith intended to make her recognizable in court. Reports note that she had been wearing a full-face niqab at the time of her arrest days earlier.
Morrissey characterized his client as a severely traumatized person who wishes to make clear her opposition to the Islamic State. He told the court El Houli has renounced ISIS and violent jihad and wants nothing to do with it now or in the future, neither for herself nor for her children.
Prosecutors allege El Houli joined the Islamic State during the 2013-2014 period and married multiple members of the terror group during her years in Syria. Chief Magistrate Lisa Hannan relayed claims from prosecutors that the accused previously expressed support for terrorist violence and advocated killing nonbelievers, as well as attempting to radicalize her own children.
It is understood that El Houli’s return to Australia occurred independently of official government repatriation efforts for displaced citizens. Australian police believe Kurdish forces detained her in March 2019 and placed her with her family in the al-Hawl displacement camp in northern Syria. She allegedly escaped the camp with her sister and children and paid a smuggler to facilitate their passage into Lebanon, as reported by Breitbart News.
Magistrate Hannan emphasized the gravity of the charges and stated she must consider risks to public safety when determining bail eligibility. She also indicated interest in hearing evidence regarding the circumstances of El Houli’s escape from Kurdish custody and her failure to participate in counter-terrorism programs.
Morrissey argued his client is willing to engage in such programs but has been hampered by a potential diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
Several other Australian women and their children have returned home in recent weeks and now face charges including terrorism, enslavement, and slave trading. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett testified before a Senate hearing last week that crucial evidence supporting charges against Rayann El Houli surfaced only after other ISIS brides arrived in Australia in May.
With information from Breitbart News
