Turkey, itself a propagator of global jihad and Islamic State, classifies Suhayra Aden as an ISIS terrorist, however according to NZ appeasement, this ISIS terrorist won’t face charges in NZ when she arrives. Aden is not the first, Mark John Taylor got back scot-free, while Kiwi’s are in jail for speaking against the Islamic global jihad agenda.
There is no need to “fight” Islam to eradicate it, education is the key. As more and more Muslims research the history of Islam, they leave as they discover it is not what their imams have told them.
Suhayra Aden was 6 years old when she left New Zealand. Two decades later, having survived the collapse of the Islamic State, she will be welcomed back with a terrorism investigation.
Aden will be the first publicly-known adherent of the Islamic State, or Isis, to return to New Zealand after travelling to Syria. Though she spent most of her life in Australia, she became New Zealand’s problem after Australia stripped her of citizenship for joining the extremist group.
Her deportation to New Zealand was inevitable after she was detained in Turkey, along with her two children, in February. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday that a repatriation of Aden and her two children would be “managed” under agreement with Turkey.
Though Turkey has alleged Aden is a wanted Isis terrorist, it appears unlikely she will face charges in New Zealand.
It will be difficult to obtain evidence of any terrorist activity in Syria, for a start. New Zealand’s terrorism laws have also proven unworkable when prosecuting domestic actions, let alone terror activity overseas.
And, despite concerns, a terror expert says there’s only an “infinitesimal” chance that Aden poses a risk to the public.
Does Aden pose a risk?
Ardern was unwilling to label Aden a terrorist on Monday, when she confirmed a “safety plan” was prepared to help Aden and her children integrate into New Zealand.
“I simply don’t have the information required to make any judgment,” she said.
Aden’s lawyer, Deborah Manning?, said her client was “looking forward to being in New Zealand and giving her children an opportunity at living here and integrating, and really wishes to have privacy for them to allow them to settle in here and come to terms with everything they have been through”.
She was a teenager when she left Australia for Syria in 2014. ABC has reported that she had two children with Swedish men in the now-collapsed Isis territory, both are now dead. She lost a third child to pneumonia.
ABC reporter Dylan Welch, who interviewed Aden at a Syrian refugee camp, told RNZ earlier in the year there was no suggestion she fought for the extremist group, and she appeared to honestly regret joining Isis.
It’s clear the Government considers there to be some risk, though the security measures in place have been kept secret. Ardern said police and other government agencies had “used all of the tools available to us to ensure the safety of New Zealanders on this return”.
Massey University teaching fellow Dr John Battersby?, who specialises in counter-terrorism and intelligence, said the police and intelligence agencies would not assume Aden was a terrorist – though she would be considered a possible risk.
There were “complexities”. Aden had lived through war and, Battersby said, evidence from across several countries showed most returning citizens had not engaged in terrorism at home.
“There’s all sorts of trauma and problems that could emerge from that. And that could be just a matter of trying to rehabilitate, reintegrate somebody back into a society. That could be the extent of the problem.
“On the other hand, it could be some underlying radical motivations that haven’t gone away … I’d say the risk is infinitesimal, but it’s there.”
How to manage a terror suspect
Ardern said the police investigation had been made “somewhat difficult” given Aden was in Turkey. But this will change when she is on New Zealand soil. A police spokeswoman confirmed security measures were in place and an investigation was underway but “no further detail can be shared”.
Battersby said police would interview Aden to obtain evidence of “what she’s been up to”, but not necessarily charge her with a crime.
“They’ll be looking for what they can corroborate, or what they believe they can ascertain she’s been up to, to make the decision as to whether or not there’s a risk to the safety of New Zealanders.”
“It’s highly, highly unlikely she’ll be facing any terrorism charges, because if all she’s done is married people and had children … then she hasn’t done anything.”
He said it would be too difficult to gain sufficient evidence of any actions overseas to lay a charge under the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002, the current law that makes terrorism a crime.
“We have been unable to actually apply the Terrorism Suppression Act to what we suspect has been terrorism here …. We’ve got no chance at all of applying that definition on the other side of the world.”
The only person to be successfully charged with terrorism was the Christchurch mosque terrorist, and he pleaded guilty. “We were lucky … the act hasn’t been tested in country,” Battersby said.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has previously lambasted Australia for revoking the citizenship of Suhayra Aden.
However, Aden could be subjected to a Terrorism Control Order without being charged with terrorism.
Under such an order, which police can apply to a court for, a person is restricted from communicating with certain people or using the Internet, must meet with a police constable as often as twice a week, and provide “reasonable access” to searches of their home and electronic devices.
“That’ll be monitored by the courts and progress will be checked by the courts. And if all goes well, the control order will be finite,” Battersby said.
“The real concern is her welfare, really, and whether or not her welfare is going to cause a problem for her in terms of how she integrates, or problem for society if she doesn’t want to.”
Could Australia accept Aden’s children?
Australia’s stripping of Aden’s citizenship frustrated Ardern, and it may frustrate attempts to reintegrate her. Battersby said most of her family were across the Tasman, meaning Australia would provide Aden the best opportunity to reintegrate her.
“They’ve really thrown a problem at us, and we’re not in the best position to deal with it. They would be,” he said.
Ardern on Monday said Australia had refused to change its decision. However, she said Australia had promised it would not unilaterally cancel the citizenship of a dual-citizen in such a way in the future.
“And equally, we’ve made some progress on the way that the children in this case will be treated,” she said.
Whether this means the children could gain Australian citizenship, or receive the rights of a New Zealand citizen in Australia, remained unclear. The Government continued to work through this issue with the Australian Government.
