ISIS bride accused of keeping a 'sex slave' refused bail after she launched fight for her freedom

By WAYNE FLOWER, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 06:43, 17 June 2026 | Updated: 06:57, 17 June 2026 A woman accused of acting as a 'deputy' while her father allegedly raped a slave at the height of Islamic State's power has been refused bail. Zeinab Ahmad, 31, is facing two counts of crimes against humanity, including enslavement and using a slave, which the court heard was authorised by an ISIS 'slave-rape handbook'. She had hoped to be released on Wednesday by Chief Magistrate Lisa Hannan, who in an hour-long ruling deemed any risk she might pose to the wider community was too great to allow her to walk free. Ahmad had banked on living with her uncle, Abraham Abbas, after he put up a $75,000 surety to secure her release. He is the brother of Ahmad's mother and fellow accused Kawsar Abbas, 54, who will apply for bail on Friday. Ms Hannan dismissed Ahmad's claims that she had changed her radical beliefs, which federal authorities alleged she had posted about on social media while in the Middle East. 'They are, in my view, insufficient to counter the evidence of her words and actions in Syria,' Ms Hannan said. 'They are made after her arrest, after separation from her daughter and in the context of an application for bail. They are in my view insufficient to counter the evidence of her words and actions in Syria which exhibit clear risk to the community if they are still adhered to.'  Zeinab Ahmad, 31, is facing two counts of crimes against humanity Ahmad's lawyer, Grace Morgan, had earlier told the court her client had renounced ISIS. 'My client does not support Islamic State,' she said. 'She rejects the organisation. She has a deep anger towards it.' The charges, which carry maximum penalties of 25 years’ imprisonment each, are the first crimes against humanity offences prosecuted before an Australian court. 'In my view, the risk of terrorism lies within, in belief systems, thoughts and adherence to the views of others who distort religious teachings to promote hate. It is demonstrated by prior conduct,' Ms Hannan said.  'After that period of time there is no clear evidence of renunciation in the years she was in the IDP camps.' Ahmad had wanted to go home with Mr Abbas, who was himself accused of pushing a camera into the face of a Herald Sun photographer as he snapped ISIS bride Kirsty Rosse-Emile and her two children at the airport on 26 May. It was his evidence and cash that she anticipated would secure her bail. Zeinab Ahmad wanted to be released into the home of her uncle Abraham Abbas, who clashed with photographers at Melbourne Airport last month On 5 June, Mr Abbas told the magistrate he held no love for ISIS. 'I hate those b****rds,' he said. 'Sorry for the language. They're evil and they don’t represent anything we believe in Islam at all.' Police had vehemently opposed releasing Ahmad back into the community, arguing she continued to pose a threat to Australians. Commonwealth prosecutor Andrew Sprague argued Ahmad should remain behind bars due to her previous social media statements and support for Islamic State ideology in years gone by. 'Based on the applicant's conduct, her statements, which have endorsed and supported an ideology and a terrorist organisation that is fundamentally opposed to the freedom and safety of all those who do not share its views, the court should conclude that the risk to the public is unacceptable,' he said. The court heard Ahmad left Melbourne on 4 November 2014, stating she intended to spend seven months in Turkey. Authorities believe she and her husband arrived in Syria in January 2015. Chief Magistrate Lisa Hannan made her decision on Wednesday  Ahmad's father Mohammad Ahmad (pictured) - who is now in a Syrian prison - has been accused of enslaving a young girl and raping her By 2015, police allege Ahmad was active on social media, posting 'blackness and dust will cover the disbelievers.' The court heard she posted content justifying the capture and killing of a Jordanian pilot by ISIS. Over the following months, Ahmad allegedly posted repeatedly to social media condemning the United States and its allies. She said Islamic State would continue to expand and 'destroy the United States and its allies', according to the court. The court heard Ahmad’s husband was killed during the conflict, writing in a note before his death that he was a 'martyr'. 'This was his dream,' she wrote in one tribute. The mother of three was among a group of women with alleged ties to ISIS who flew into Australia on 7 May before being arrested and charged with crimes against humanity. Among the most serious claims were allegations Ahmad ran the family home where her father, Mohammad Ahmad, routinely assaulted a young female slave, punching and dragging her down two flights of stairs on one occasion. An ISIS flag (pictured) had been draped proudly on the wall of a home where Ahmad allegedly kept a slave  An alleged social media post made by Ahmad  'I bought you for sex and housework,' she was told. The girl had allegedly been taken captive as a 15-year-old when ISIS combatants murdered her mother and brother. Over the next five years, she was said to have been traded about 17 times to different ISIS members, who beat, tortured, and raped her. Police allege the Ahmad family bought the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, for US$10,000 during Ramadan in 2017. Mr Ahmad told others the young girl was his wife, but allegedly told her: 'I bought you for the purpose of raping and at the same time serving the home.' The court heard Zeinab Ahmad shared her bedroom with the slave and allegedly kept a Glock pistol in the room. But her lawyer painted Ahmad as a victim who was herself under the control of evil men. In her final submissions to the court, Ms Morgan claimed Ahmad had been keen to signal to others held with her in a Syrian refugee camp that she was not an ISIS supporter. Abraham Abbas (right) confronted photographers at Melbourne Airport on May 26 A man confronted a Daily Mail photographer at Melbourne Airport on May 26. He had been with Mr Abbas  'She was sick of people being in control of her,' Ms Morgan said. 'She explained she wanted to distance herself from others who were not on the same wavelength as hers, so she removed her face coverings and started wearing colour.' 'She did not want to be associated with others who held ideologies. She wanted others to know she was not like them: "I wasn't and I won't be like them."' 'She described having such a bad experience with Islam and in relation to her daughter stated: "I don't want any more Islamic influence on her."' Ms Morgan told the court the allegations that her client had been involved in violence against the alleged victim were weak, a notion dismissed by Ms Hannan on Wednesday. 'To the extent that it is alleged my client has been complicit in violence or sexual slavery - that aspect of the case is weak,' Ms Morgan said. 'And it's weak because of statements made by the complainants.' Ms Morgan claimed Ahmad had actually tried to intervene to protect a young woman who was allegedly kept as a slave by the family and being raped by Ahmad's father, Mohammad Ahmad, now held in a Syrian prison. Lawyer Grace Morgan (right) fought to have Ahmad released back into the community on bail Ahmad had spent years trapped in this refugee camp in Syria.  'There is evidence of positive conduct intervening to prevent on at least one occasion,' she said. Ms Morgan argued her client should be released on bail for a variety of reasons, including the expected delay in the matter coming to its conclusion. The court heard it could take years for the matter to conclude, which Ms Morgan suggested could exceed any sentence Ahmad might receive if found guilty. 'It's submitted in this case that the hearing of this trial to verdict will almost certainly take in excess of three years,' she said. 'The case is not presently ready for a fair trial.' Ms Morgan told the court Ahmad had herself been subjected to violence at the hands of men. 'It ought not be assumed that my client's freedoms were the same as she enjoys here in Australia,' she added. 'That goes back to the significant structures of power and control that were imposed on women by this regime.' A court sketch shows Zeinab Ahmad at Melbourne Magistrates' Court Ms Morgan told the court her client was forced into each of her marriages to ISIS combatants. 'Those structures of power and control applied to my client,' she said. Ahmad said she had been married three times in four years, claiming she was forced into each marriage and experienced violence, controlling behaviour and threats. She also described threats and violence while in the camp. In coming to her conclusion, Ms Hannan said the two matters upon which the defence placed emphasis was in arguing that exceptional circumstances were met on delay and the impact on Ahmad's child of her continued separation.  'I have acted on the basis that delay need not be manifest to be relied upon,' she said.  'In this regard this application might be seen as premature as relevant information is not yet available. In my view, based upon the information currently available, delay would not of itself constitute exceptional circumstances.' Ms Hannan also dismissed concerns related to Ahmad's daughter, who was living with extended family members.  'There is no doubt that her child has had a traumatic history but that is not the assessment I must make,' she said.  'The assessment is about the child now, and the impact upon her of her mother’s ongoing custody ... It is a sad fact that a parent’s ongoing custody affects a child negatively, however that of itself is not exceptional.' Ahmad will return to court at a date to be fixed.   Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.