NZ to accept alleged Isis terrorist and children
The Government will accept the return of a woman who joined Isis and her two children, as Turkey intends to deport them.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, in a statement issued yesterday afternoon, said the Cabinet had agreed to a ‘‘managed return’’ of the New Zealand citizen – 26-year-old Suhayra Aden – and her two children, after Turkey requested they be repatriated.
Aden was detained by Turkish authorities near the border of Syria in February. Her possible return to New Zealand caused friction in the trans-Tasman relationship, after Ardern revealed Aden was a dual national but Australia had cancelled her citizenship.
‘‘New Zealand has not taken this step lightly. We have taken into account our international responsibilities as well as the details of this particular case, including the fact that children are involved,’’ Ardern said.
‘‘I can assure people great care is being taken as to how the woman and her young children are returned . . . and how they will be managed in a way that minimises any risk for New Zealanders.’’
Ardern said police and other state agencies had extensively planned for the woman’s return, and ‘‘the Government wants to be as upfront with people as it can be’’. The welfare of the children was ‘‘a primary concern’’.
‘‘New Zealand is not able to remove citizenship from a person and leave them stateless. And as New Zealand citizens, this country is the only place where they can currently legally reside,’’ she said.
‘‘They are not Turkey’s responsibility, and with Australia refusing to accept the family, that makes them ours.’’
Ardern publicly lambasted Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in February, after his government unilaterally stripped the woman’s Australian citizen
ship due to her having travelled to Syria to join Isis.
‘‘I made very strong representations to Australia that she should be permitted to return there. Her family moved to Australia when she was 6 and she grew up there before departing for Syria in 2014, on an Australian passport,’’ Ardern said yesterday.
Australia had refused to reverse this decision. However, Ardern said, Australia would ‘‘proactively consult’’ New Zealand if it intended to cancel the citizenship of such a person in the future.
The security arrangements that would be in place when Aden and her children arrive, and further details of the timing of their arrival, would not be disclosed.
Ardern said any New Zealander suspected of having associated with a terrorist group could expect to be investigated by the police.
The children’s commissioner, Judge Andrew Becroft, said in a statement that the public and media should respect the privacy of the two children.
‘‘These children have had an incredibly hard start to life . . . They have the right to a full, free life, including a safe home and an education, as much as any other Australian or New Zealand child does.’’
The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand echoed the plea for the media to respect the privacy of Aden and her children.
In a statement, the organisation said it had been informed that Aden had not been charged or convicted of a crime in New Zealand or overseas.