Zeinab Ahmad, who claims childbirth led her to abandon support for the Islamic State group, was denied bail by Justice James Elliott of the Victorian Supreme Court. Ahmad was taken into custody in May upon her return to Australia with family members of former Islamic State fighters. She faces charges related to slavery offences.

Justice Elliott stated that Ahmad's "extreme ideology in the past coupled with extreme brutality (of IS) means any related conduct, including indirectly influencing others is potentially catastrophic." He acknowledged the risk might be low but described it as real.

Ahmad, 31, had moved to Syria in 2015. Her first husband was killed fighting for IS. She remarried twice. According to police allegations, her father purchased a teenage girl as a slave in 2017 for approximately $13,000. The girl reportedly suffered abuse, including being beaten and dragged by her hair, incidents that Ahmad and other family members would have been aware of due to the victim's screams.

While Ahmad is not accused of directly assaulting the girl, the teenager claims she was treated poorly and that Ahmad would order her around and restrict her movements. Between 2015 and 2017, Ahmad allegedly made social media posts calling for violence against non-believers and advocating for the destruction of the US and its allies.

Defence barrister Julie Condon KC argued that since the birth of her daughter in 2019, Ahmad had developed an opposition to extremist ideology, noting no public declarations of support for IS since February 2017. However, prosecutor Andrew Sprague contended that Ahmad still posed an unacceptable risk, citing her past support for her husband's martyrdom and related activities. He argued that the time elapsed since her social media posts did not necessarily demonstrate an absence of ongoing extremist ideology.

Ahmad's mother, Kawsar, who also faces slavery charges, was granted bail in June. Justice Elliott acknowledged that Ahmad's separation from her young daughter was unfortunate but noted it was mitigated by the child's ability to stay with her grandmother. Ahmad appeared in court via video link wearing a blue headscarf during the bail decision. Her uncle, Abraham Abbas, who offered $75,000 as surety, called the decision "unfair" after leaving the courtroom.