A prominent Sydney lawyer has defended the return of ISIS brides to Australia, arguing the public should not ‘condemn’ innocent children, or their mothers, because of the atrocities committed by Islamic State in Syria.
Lebanese Muslim Association secretary Gamel Kheir, a 56-year-old conveyancer for Bankstown firm Kheir Lawyers, said the women are entitled to return because they are Australian citizens.
‘I am no defender of these individuals. I am no defender of ISIS. If they are guilty of breaking Australian law, charge them,’ he said.
‘But I value that there is an independent and trusted legal process. I don’t care what the government does or doesn’t do, I care even less what the Opposition thinks.
‘We the Muslim community are constantly told we are not assimilating, but we are saying do not bow to political pressure.’
However, the lawyer questioned the morality of those criticising the return of the young children, who, he said, should not be tarnished by their parents’ choices.
‘My question to your readers, what sin are these children guilty of? Do we want to abandon children?’ he said.
‘We don’t abandon children. We don’t say (they are to blame) when their parents made that decision. That is disgusting logic.
A group of 13 women and children tied to ISIS have arrived in Australia
Lebanese Muslim Association secretary Gamel Kheir (pictured) has told politicians to stay out of the issue, adding that the legal process should be allowed to take its course
‘I would argue that way more Muslims have been victims of this ISIS scourge. It has affected my brothers and sisters in Syria and Lebanon, but I will not let that sway what I hold sacrosanct: that I believe in justice, and I believe in morality.
‘The children deserve to be rehabilitated, repatriated and reintroduced to society.’
Mr Kheir added that, as a collective, Australians should not ‘condemn’ children and their mothers because ‘we don’t like what ISIS did in Syria’.
Many of the women have spoken about being tricked into living in Syria, with some experts suggesting recruiters painted a utopian view of life with the terrorist group.
Mr Kheir told politicians to stay out of politicising the return of the ISIS brides.
‘Politicians are foaming at the mouth, Pauline Hanson is rubbing her hands together. (But) they must stay out of it and leave it to a judge,’ he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his government have continued to insist that they have not supported the group’s return to Australia.
Meanwhile, both Leader of the Opposition Angus Taylor and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson have expressed their fury at the cohort’s return.
‘We are fools, absolutely fools. I wouldn’t have them anywhere near this place,’ Hanson told Sky News Australia.
