Zeinab Ahmad Seeks Bail on 2 Slavery Charges as Police Reject Electronic Monitoring
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Jun 5
Zeinab Ahmad Seeks Bail on 2 Slavery Charges as Police Reject Electronic Monitoring
3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Jun 5
Summary
Melbourne Magistrates’ Court heard Zeinab Ahmad’s bid for bail on two crimes-against-humanity charges, with the 31-year-old offering an ankle bracelet, phone surveillance and religious counseling if released.
Police opposed that plan, telling the court electronic monitoring would not reduce the risk posed by Ahmad after more than a decade under Islamic State, citing unknowns about her ideology.
The case centers on allegations that a Yazidi teenager was enslaved in the Ahmad family home in Raqqa in 2017 and 2018; each charge—enslavement and use of a slave—carries up to 25 years.
Ahmad and her mother have been in custody since returning from a Syrian refugee camp last month with Australian women and children linked to IS, while her husband is held in an Iraqi prison.
The bail hearing resumes June 15, with defense lawyers arguing the first-of-its-kind slavery prosecution in Victoria raises legal and evidence-gathering complexities involving Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
After a decade and across continents, can prosecutors prove a mother's alleged crimes under the Islamic State?
Denied bail over her ISIS ideology, can religious counseling and ankle bracelets ever mitigate such deep-seated risks?
Australia’s First Modern Slavery Prosecution: The Zeinab Ahmad Case, Yazidi Victims, and the Legal Battle Over Crimes Against Humanity
Overview
As of June 2026, Zeinab Ahmad is at the center of a high-profile legal battle in Australia, where the court is deciding whether to grant her bail while she faces serious charges of enslavement and use of a slave—both classified as crimes against humanity and carrying up to 25 years in prison each. The case highlights the severe nature of the accusations and the complex legal arguments unfolding in court. Public interest is strong, with human rights activists and community members closely following the proceedings, underscoring the broader impact and significance of this unprecedented prosecution.