New Zealand agrees to take back IS-linked woman and kids
July 26, 2021
A suspected "Islamic State" (IS) militant and her two children will be allowed to return to New Zealand from Turkey after she was stripped of her Australian citizenship, Wellington announced on Monday.
The case had caused a bitter dispute between New Zealand and Australia about who should take responsibility for the woman, who originally held dual citizenship of both countries.
Australia revoked her Australian citizenship last year under its anti-terrorism laws.
Canberra remains adamant
New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said she had tried unsuccessfully to persuade Australia to repatriate the woman on the grounds that she had lived there from the age of 6 before leaving for Syria in 2014 on an Australian passport.
"They are not Turkey's responsibility, and with Australia refusing to accept the family, that makes them ours," she said in a statement.
The prime minister said the repatriation would be undertaken in a manner that ensured the safety of New Zealand society.
"I can assure people great care is being taken as to how the woman and her young children are returned to New Zealand and how they will be managed in a way that minimizes any risk for New Zealanders," she said.
It is not clear whether the woman, who has been held with her children in Turkey since crossing the border from Syria in February, will face charges in New Zealand.
Thorny issues of repatriation
Turkey arrested them on charges of entering the country illegally, with the Turkish Defense Ministry describing the woman, who was 26 at the time of her arrest, as a "terrorist."
Many governments are grappling with the issue of taking back citizens who went to fight with the terrorist IS group in Syria and Iraq and could possibly pose a terrorist threat in their countries of origin when they return. In particular, thousands of children of IS fighters from various countries are still being held in camps in Syria under dire conditions.
tj/nm (AP, AFP)