Chaotic scenes as an ISIS bride accused of slavery offences is shielded by police and loved ones after being freed from custody

By TARA COSOLETO FOR AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: 13:49, 26 June 2026 | Updated: 13:49, 26 June 2026 An accused ISIS bride has been given a police barricade as she walked from court and into the arms of her loved ones. Kawsar Ahmad, 54, emerged from Melbourne Magistrates Court about 7.30pm on Friday, with a group of police officers forming a line to push media back. Members of her family quickly covered her face with jackets but she could be seen embracing one of them in the back of the waiting vehicle. Three hours earlier, Chief Magistrate Lisa Hannan granted Ahmad bail with strict conditions after finding she posed a very low risk to the community. She had spent the past two months in custody after being charged with slavery offences upon her return to Australia with other family members of former Islamic State fighters. Prosecutors allege Ahmad migrated to Syria with her husband Mohammed and their children to join Islamic State about January 2015. It's alleged while in Syria in 2017, Mohammed bought a teenage girl as a slave for $US10,000. The girl was repeatedly raped and beaten by Mohammed, including an incident where she was hit and dragged down two flights of stairs by the hair, the court was told.  Kawsar Ahmad  (covered in grey jacket) was given a police barricade as she walked from court and into the arms of her loved ones on Friday night Kawsar Ahmad's loved ones quickly covered her face with jackets as she was whisked into a waiting vehicle It's alleged Ahmad agreed to the purchase and then treated the girl badly, often threatening her with beatings or the prospect of being sold. Prosecutors allege Ahmad would ask her husband to assault the teen and while she never assaulted the girl herself, she would often scream at her over trivial matters. In opposing bail, Detective Senior Constable Marc Clendenning told the court Ahmad was a risk to the community and there were concerns she would spread extremist ideology if released. Ahmad's defence barrister, Peter Morrissey SC, argued his client did not support Islamic State and strict bail conditions including a ban on attending mosques would reduce any alleged risk. Judge Hannan found while risk could never be entirely eliminated, Ahmad posed such a low one that stringent bail conditions could make the risk acceptable. The judge pointed to the evidence of a psychologist who assessed Ahmad and found she no longer held radical views or posed a risk of recidivism. 'Dr (Michael) Davis says that he did not find any blatant indication that the applicant held any lingering beliefs of extremism,' Judge Hannan said in her reasons. Police officers forming a line to push media back as Kawsar Ahmad (covered in grey jacket) departed Melbourne Magistrates Court Family of Kawsar Ahmad were seen outside the court waiting for her to be released Kawsar Abbas (pictured in the back of prison van on May 11) faces charges of enslavement, possessing a slave, using a slave and engaging in slave trading but has been freed on bail 'And there is 'simply nothing' to suggest that she is not one of the approximately 98 per cent who do not go on to reoffend.' Ahmad had made a statement through her lawyer renouncing Islamic State, and Judge Hannan said while that alone was not compelling, it carried more weight alongside Dr Davis' findings. 'In my view even a low risk of terrorism would likely be unacceptable,' Judge Hannan said. 'But having regard to all matters put ... while risk can never be entirely eliminated, on the evidence before me the risk is so low that with stringent bail conditions it can be made acceptable.' The strict conditions included an 8pm to 6am curfew, not being allowed to attend any mosques and not being allowed to use a phone for anything other than phone calls, texts or government services. Ahmad will also have to keep a log of every person who attends her bail address and hand over any passport or travel documents to police. Ahmad's 31-year-old daughter Zeinab, another accused ISIS bride, remains in custody after losing her bid for bail last week. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.