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Tara Cosoleto

Accused 'ISIS bride' loses bail bid due to public risk

Zeinab Ahmad was charged with slavery offences in May after returning to Australia from Syria. (Anita Lester/AAP PHOTOS)

An accused "ISIS bride" has been refused bail after a magistrate found she posed an unacceptable risk of endangering the community.

Zeinab Ahmad, 31, looked straight ahead as Chief Magistrate Lisa Hannan handed down her decision in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday. 

Ahmad was charged with slavery offences in May after returning to Australia with other family members of former Islamic State fighters.

Zeinab Ahmad court sketch
Ahmad allegedly moved to Syria with her first husband, who joined Islamic State, in 2015. (Anita Lester/AAP PHOTOS)

Ahmad moved to Syria with her first husband Dawod in January 2015 and he became a member of Islamic State before he was killed in a drone strike in May 2016, the court was told.

Federal police allege it was while she was living with her family in 2017 that Ahmad's father Mohammad bought a teenage girl as a slave for $US10,000.

It's alleged the girl was repeatedly raped and beaten by Mohammad, with the claimed attacks including an incident where she was hit and dragged down two flights of stairs by the hair.

Judge Hannan accepted there could be delays in the case and her young daughter was experiencing some hardships.

Women and children linked to former Islamic State fighters have been returning to Australia. (Nick Wilson/AAP VIDEO)

But the judge found Ahmad's application should be refused because there were no exceptional circumstances and the risk she posed to the community was unacceptable.

Judge Hannan pointed to the lack of compelling evidence showing Ahmad had renounced IS or changed her beliefs. 

Ahmad was remanded in custody to July when she will next face court for a committal mention hearing.

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