'Win for the radicals!' Australia welcomes more than a dozen Isis members from Shamima Begum's notorious Syrian camp
Fury has erupted after Australia confirmed it will welcome back more than a dozen Isis brides and their children from the same notorious Syrian camp housing Shamima Begum.
On Wednesday, Australia's Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced that four women and nine children were on their way to Sydney after leaving Damascus.
He said in a statement: “The Government has not and will not provide any assistance to this group.
“These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation."
Meanwhile, Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed that a number of the women “will be arrested and charged” once they touch down in Oz.
Mr Burke added: "Any members of this cohort who have committed crimes can expect to face the full force of the law."
It is believed that some of the women could be charged with terrorism offences, including entering or remaining in a declared terrorist zone.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's administration has refused to give details as to when the group will arrive, but some are expected as early as Thursday morning.
The Department of Home Affairs has not released any details surrounding where the Isis brides and their children would be going once back in the country.
Last week, the Australian Government blocked a separate group of 13 who attempted to return - but Mr Burke admitted it was almost impossible to prevent Isis brides who are passport holders from re-entering the country.
He said: “There are very serious limits on what can be done with respect to preventing a citizen of a country returning to their country.
“The legal threshold that we have is with respect to temporary exclusion orders. I have received advice in one instance so far.”
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AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett confirmed that children among the cohort will "undergo community integration programmes, therapeutic support, and countering violent extremism programmes" upon arrival.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation said that the return of the jihadi brides would not raise the country's terror threat level - which remains probable.
The move has been blasted by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, who described it as a "win for the radicals" and said it "exposes the Government’s ‘Stockholm syndrome’ with radical Islam".
Speaking to Sky News Australia, Ms Hanson said: “We've allowed them back in and it costs about $2million per person to actually look after them for their security, national security, for the rest of their life, because I'll tell you, they won't be getting jobs and then there are children on top of it.
“We are fools, absolute fools. I wouldn't have them anywhere near this place.”
Around 550 women from the West are believed to have travelled to Syria to join Isis in 2014 and 2015.
At least 145 of them are estimated to have come from Britain - including Begum, who was later stripped of her citizenship and barred from returning.
However, concerns have arisen in recent months that she could be plotting a return via small boat after documentary maker Andrew Drury claimed he received messages outlining an alleged escape plan.
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