Mariam Raad
Mariam Raad is an Australian woman, whose husband was an early volunteer to fight for Daesh.[1] She married Muhammad Zahab, a charismatic Australian teacher of mathematics, in Australia. He traveled to Daesh in early 2013, and he enouraged Mariam to join him a year later, in early 2014. Counter-terrorism officials would later assert her husband, Muhammad Zahab, had successfully encouraged dozens of Australians to live in Daesh-controlled regions of Syria.[2][3] Zahab would take on a second wife, Zahra Ahmad, also an Australian, before his death in combat, in 2018. All of the pairs four children were born in Daesh-controlled Syria.
The Daesh regime collapsed in 2019, and Raad was one of thousands of refugees held in camps run by Kurdish militia. The refugees in these camps included many foreign widows and orphans of individuals who volunteered to live in Daesh territory who had trouble returning to the countries of citizenship, due to security concerns.
In October of 2021 the Australian Broadcasting Corporation quoted Raad over her concern that her 11 year old son, Dujana Zahab, would be taken from her, and sent to a prison for men, when he turned 12.[4] Raad also told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation she didn't know her husband was a member of Daesh's leadership, didn't know anything about his work, and disputed that she could have chosen to not accompany him to Daesh territory.[5]
On October 29, 2022, Raad and a three other Australian mothers, and their thirteen children, were repatriated.[6] The three other women were Bessima Assaad, Shayma Assaad, Mariam Dabboussy.[7] The women had all agreed to be subject to "control orders" - security measures that could include periodic check-ins with security officials, or wearing an electronic security anklet, prior to their repatriation.
Australian security officials arrested Raad, at her home, in Youngs, New South Wales, on Thursday January 5, 2023.[8][9] According to The Guardian, she was charged with "entering, or remaining in, 'declared areas' - in this case Syria, which was under the control of the terrorist group IS - in breach of federal law."[10][11] On January 6 she was granted bail. So far, she is the only one of her cohort of four widows to face charges.[5][12] The Daily Telegraph reports Australian law enforcement officials are closely scrutinizing Raad's phone records to find proof she entered daesh territory willingly.[13]
Her lawyer told the court that the night following her arrest was the first night she and her children had ever been separated.[5]
Raad had her first hearing on March 14, 2023.[14] As of January 2023[update] Raad was the only widow to face charges, for her travel to Syria.[15]
References
- ↑ "'ISIS bride' Mariam Raad gets bail from Australian court". Asian News International (Canberra). 2023-01-06. Archived from the original on 2023-01-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20230106080440/https://www.aninews.in/news/world/pacific/isis-bride-mariam-raad-gets-bail-from-australian-court20230106120917/. Retrieved 2023-01-09. "According to court documents, Australian authorities alleged that she traveled to Syria in early 2014, to join her husband, Muhammad Zahab, who had left Australia a year earlier to join IS."
- ↑ Livia Albeck-Ripka (2019-10-21). "Desperate Pleas to Free Women and Children From ISIS Camps in Syria". The New York Times: p. A8. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/21/world/australia/isis-camp-syria.html. Retrieved 2020-07-22. "While many women from around the world joined the terrorist group of their own accord, the families of all the Australian women in Al-Hol say they were coerced by husbands and other family members. Many say they are related by blood or marriage to Muhammad Zahab, a Sydney teacher turned Islamic State fighter, who they say delivered them to Syria."
- ↑ Dylan Welch; Suzanne Dredge; Naomi Selvaratnam (2019-09-30). "Married to Islamic State: The untold stories of the women Australia doesn’t want back.". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-30/women-of-isis-reveal-australian-network/11549490?nw=0. Retrieved 2020-07-22. "Mariam Dabboussy is risking her safety to reveal how her brother-in-law Muhammad Zahab delivered her and her baby into the grip of the Islamic State (IS) group."
- ↑ Suzanne Dredge, Alex McDonald (2021-10-19). "More than 40 Australian children still languishing in Syrian detention camp". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2022-10-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20221028050813/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-20/more-than-40-australian-children-languishing-in-syria-camp/100530332. Retrieved 2022-10-29. "Australian Mariam Raad is afraid her 11-year-old son Dujana will be removed from her care when he turns 12 at the end of the month."
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Kathleen Calderwood (2023-01-06). "ISIS wife Mariam Raad granted bail after being charged" (video). Australian Broadcasting Corporation via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbzDl2SlFQs. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ↑ Matthew Knott (2022-10-28). "Government begins repatriating relatives of Islamic State fighters from Syria". Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/government-begins-repatriating-relatives-of-islamic-state-fighters-from-syria-20221028-p5btq1.html. Retrieved 2022-10-29. "Mariam Raad, 31, has four children aged under 11: Dujana, Haritha, JuJu and Sumaya. She is the widow of Muhammad Zahab, a Sydney mathematics teacher who became known as the most senior IS leader from Australia."
- ↑ Maryanne Taouk (2022-10-29). "'Willing to do whatever is asked': Women repatriated from Syria regret trouble caused". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2022-10-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20221029171117/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-29/australian-women-repatriated-from-syria-issue-statement/101593774. Retrieved 2022-10-29. "'We are willing to do whatever is asked of us by government authorities to ensure the safety of our families and the Australian community and we will fully cooperate with all Australian law enforcement agencies,' the women said."
- ↑ "NSW woman Mariam Raad granted bail after being charged with entering Islamic State territory". The Guardian. 2023-01-06. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/06/nsw-woman-mariam-raad-granted-bail-after-being-charged-with-entering-islamic-state-territory. Retrieved 2023-01-09. "She was charged with entering, or remaining in, 'declared areas' - in this case Syria, which was under the control of the terrorist group IS - in breach of federal law."
- ↑ Aidan Wondracz, Candace Sutton (2023-01-05). "ISIS bride facing court after she flew to Syria is revealed to be married to Australia's most radical Islamic terrorist - after police deemed her 'no threat' to national security". Daily Mail Australia. Archived from the original on 2023-01-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20230109112202/https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11604121/ISIS-bride-Mariam-Raad-face-court-charges-willingly-entering-Syria.html. Retrieved 2023-03-15. "Mariam Raad, 31, was arrested after search warrants were issued in the NSW country town of Young and the western Sydney suburb of Parklea on Thursday morning."
- ↑ Catie McLeod (2023-03-15). "Mariam Raad appears in court charged with willingly entering Syria in 2014". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 2023-03-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20230315001028/https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/courts-law/mariam-raad-appears-in-court-charged-with-willingly-entering-syria-in-2014/news-story/8da3897aef7819940a6368c9d5ab3273. Retrieved 2023-03-15. "Prosecutors will comb the phone records of a so-called “ISIS bride” who was repatriated to Australia as they try to prove she willingly entered a part of Syria under the control of the terror outfit."
- ↑ Ren Doherty (2023-04-02). "Australian boy, 11, held in Syrian camp begs for flight home: ‘I want to feel safe’". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2023-05-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20230507151959/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/08/syria-al-roj-detention-refugee-camp-australia-child-boy-begs-for-flight-home. Retrieved 2023-05-07. "Of the women returned to Australia last year, one, Mariam Raad, has been charged with entering, or remaining in, a “declared area” in 2014 – Syria’s al-Raqqa province, which was then under the control of Islamic State – in breach of federal law. Her case is before a NSW court."
- ↑ Ben Cubby (2023-01-06). "Returned ‘ISIS bride’ released on bail". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2023-01-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20230109110806/https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/returned-isis-bride-released-on-bail-20230106-p5casb.html. Retrieved 2023-03-15. "She was granted conditional bail and is due to appear in court in March. Raad was required to surrender her passport and agree to 12 bail conditions including not contacting anyone from a terrorist group, viewing any terrorist material or propaganda and not acquiring a firearm."
- ↑ "Wife of ISIS fighter faces 10 years behind bars in Australia". NPA Syria (Qamishli, Syria). 2023-03-15. Archived from the original on 2023-03-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20230315082536/https://npasyria.com/en/94732/. Retrieved 2023-05-07. "Prosecutors will comb the phone records of the 31-year old Mariam Raad, who appeared in person at Young Local Court, in New South Wales in southeastern Australian, to prove that she willingly entered areas held by ISIS in Syria, according to Daily Telegraph."
- ↑ Catie McLeod (2023-03-14). "Mariam Raad appears in court charged with willingly entering Syria in 2014". Perth Now. Archived from the original on 2023-03-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20230315171737/https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/mariam-raad-appears-in-court-charged-with-willingly-entering-syria-in-2014-c-10045641. Retrieved 2023-03-15. "Ms Raad has been living in the regional NSW town since she was brought back to Australia in October last year from a displaced persons camp in northeastern Syria where she had been living for about three years."
- ↑ "The offence of entering and remaining in a declared area in a foreign country". Criminal Defence Lawyers Australia (Australia, Syria). 2023-01-13. https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=d06de9d1-dc01-4d75-ac96-d3712c9c5638. Retrieved 2023-03-15. "The women were all married or related to Islamic State fighters who are now dead or in jail. Raad is the only person from the group who has been charged so far."
