New details emerge about why ISIS bride who vowed to NEVER return home is now back in Australia

By KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA and ASHLEY NICKEL, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 23:35, 7 May 2026 | Updated: 23:46, 7 May 2026 A recently returned ISIS bride has admitted she felt 'vulnerable and alone' in Syria, despite once vowing never to return to Australia to shield her young son from 'naked women on the street'.  Janai Safar, 32, was among four women linked to ISIS fighters who touched down in Australia on Thursday night, almost two weeks after leaving the Al-Roj detention camp in northeastern Syria. Safar and her nine-year-old son were escorted off the plane by Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers shortly after landing in Sydney.  She appeared stony-faced in footage of her in the backseat of an AFP vehicle arriving at nearby Mascot Police Station about 7pm.  The 32-year-old was later charged with entering or remaining in declared areas, and being a member of a terrorist organisation.  Each offence carries a maximum of 10 years' imprisonment. Police will allege she travelled to Syria in 2015 to join her husband, who had previously left Australia to join ISIS.  Safar is due to face Downing Centre Local Court on Friday, where she is expected to apply for bail. Janai Safar (above), was charged with entering or remaining in declared areas, and being a member of a terrorist organisation The 32-year-old (right) was whisked from the airport to Mascot Police Station after landing in Sydney from Syria It's understood the boy is currently staying with family members.  She has returned home for the sake of her young son and to finish her nursing degree, according to her bail application, obtained by the Sydney Morning Herald.  Safar stated in her application that her son is her highest priority and that she had returned to Australia to ensure he receives an education and integrates into society.  It also states that she has extensive problems with her kidneys, suffers from PTSD and did not have access to proper healthcare services while in the camps. Safar was a nursing student in Sydney when she left the country in 2015, where she was supposed to be visiting family in Lebanon, before travelling to Turkey. It's not known how she ended up in Syria, where she married an Australian man who had travelled to the Middle East to fight for the Islamic State. He died in a motor vehicle accident in 2018. Her bail application alleges that she was under constant surveillance of handlers while living in Islamic State territory, that she could never speak freely and felt 'vulnerable and alone' at the time. It marks a stark contrast to remarks she made in 2019, in which she said she did not regret living under the Islamic State and had no plans to return home.  Safar also vowed to raise her son in a non-Islamist country, amid fears he could be taken away from her if she ever came back to Australia.  Safar appeared stoney-faced in footage of her in the backseat of an AFP vehicle arriving at nearby Mascot Police Station about 7pm Janai Safar previously vowed never to return to Australia where she says there are 'naked women on the street' and she could face ten years in jail 'It was my decision to come here to go away from where women are naked on the street. I don't want my son to be raised around that,' she told The Australian in 2019. 'I don't regret coming to Syria. I don't regret living under Islamic State.' Grandmother Kawsar Abbas, 54, along with her daughters Zahra Ahmad, 33 and Zeinab Ahmed, 31 and eight children arrived in Melbourne on Thursday night. They were held in customs for hours before Abbas and Zeinab were arrested by AFP officers and charged on Friday morning.  Abbas was charged with four crimes against humanity - slavery charges, including keeping and using a slave, and engaging in slave trade. These offences carry a maximum penalty of 25 years' imprisonment. Police will allege she travelled to Syria in 2014 with her husband and children, and was complicit in the purchase of a female slave for US$10,000, and knowingly kept the woman in her home.  Zeinab faces two slavery charges. Both offences carry a maximum penalty of 25 years' imprisonment. She travelled to Syria in 2014 with her family and knowingly kept a female slave in the home. But Zahra Ahmad was allowed to walk free and was shielded from the media by a large group of men dressed in black as she left Melbourne Airport on a shuttle bus. Men shield Zahra Ahmad from the media as she leaves Melbourne Airport on Thursday night Ms Ahmad got into a waiting minibus as the media pack surrounded the vehicle The AFP said investigations into the group are ongoing.  'This remains an active investigation into very serious allegations,' Commissioner Stephen Nutt told reporters in Canberra on Thursday night. It's understood 21 Australians remain in the Al-Roj camp, in north-eastern Syria.  Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.