A Sydney woman charged with joining the Islamic State will remain in custody after prosecutors argued the case against her was 'strong and straightforward'.
Court Appearance
Janai Safar, 32, appeared before NSW bail court on Friday after she was arrested at Sydney airport on Thursday evening. She was one of four women who returned to Australia with children who were allegedly linked to Islamic State fighters.
Three of those women have been charged, including Safar, who faces one count of entering, or remaining in, declared areas, and another charge of being a member of a terrorist organisation. Each offence she faces carries a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Bail Refused
Judge Daniel Covington refused Safar's application for bail on Friday afternoon because it did not meet the exceptional circumstances test.
Her lawyer, Michael Ainsworth of Samuel Griffith Chambers, argued Safar should be released on bail for a number of reasons, including that the now 32-year-old committed the offences when she was 21 and has been in a refugee camp for nine years.
'She's been in a situation that is, is, in itself, custodial in another country,' he told the court.
