Women linked to Islamic State arrested returning to Australia
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 7 May 2026
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Three women with links to the jihadist Islamic State group have been arrested on returning home to Australia following years in detention in Syria.
Also on the programme, Newshour goes to Baltimore to speak to families affected by the 2024 bridge collapse and now avoiding deportation, and protests against the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine rock the Venice Biennale.
(Photo: Islamic State-linked families return to Australia, Melbourne, 7 May, 2026. Credit: Joel Carrett/EPA-EFE)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:09.7 | Hello and welcome to NewsAv from the BBC World Service. We're coming to you live from London. |
| 0:15.1 | I'm James Menendez. And we're going to begin today in Australia, because at this time on the |
| 0:19.7 | programme yesterday, we were reporting that a group of Australian women and children linked to the group Islamic State |
| 0:25.8 | were heading back home after spending years in a detention camp in Syria that's now closed. |
| 0:31.6 | Well, a little earlier today, they arrived back in Australia, |
| 0:34.8 | two of them in Sydney and the rest of the group in Melbourne, and into a |
| 0:39.0 | political storm about whether they should be allowed in despite having Australian citizenship. |
| 0:45.0 | Islamic State is a prescribed terrorist organisation in Australia, as it is in many countries. |
| 0:50.8 | More on that in a few minutes. But first, let's hear from Stephen Nutt, |
| 0:54.5 | who's head of counterterrorism for Australia's federal police. |
| 0:59.0 | Victorian Joint Counterterrorism Team have arrested two women at Melbourne International Airport. |
| 1:05.2 | It is expected a 53-year-old woman will be charged tonight or tomorrow |
| 1:10.5 | with the following four Commonwealth |
| 1:12.9 | offences. |
| 1:15.6 | Crimes against humanity enslavement. |
| 1:19.2 | Crimes against humanity possess a slave. |
| 1:23.5 | Crimes against humanity use a slave. Crimes against humanity engage in slave trading. |
| 1:32.0 | These offences each carry a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment. |
| 1:37.4 | And in fact, a third woman has also now been arrested. Well, our correspondent, Simon |
| 1:42.6 | Atkinson, was at Melbourne airport when the group |
| 1:45.2 | arrived there. He has been telling me how long they'd been in Syria. Well over a decade, |
... |
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