Bail Hearing for Woman Charged With Enslaving Yazidi Teen in Syria

WHO:

ABC News - Zeinab Ahmad, 31, is accused of enslaving a Yazidi teenager in Syria.

ABC News - Kawsar Ahmad, 53, also known as Kawsar Abbas, is Zeinab's mother and co-defendant.

ABC News - Mohammed Ahmad is the husband and father of the defendants, currently held in an Iraqi prison.

ABC News - Grace Morgan is the lawyer representing Zeinab Ahmad.

ABC News - Abraham Abbas is Zeinab's uncle and a mechanic.

WHAT:

ABC News - Zeinab Ahmad is applying for bail on two slavery charges.

ABC News - Ahmad would agree to wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet and undergo religious counseling if released on bail.

ABC News - Ahmad is charged with two crimes against humanity: enslavement and use of a slave, each carrying a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.

ABC News - A Yazidi woman alleges she was enslaved in the Ahmad family home in 2017 and 2018.

WHERE:

ABC News - The bail hearing is taking place in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, Australia.

ABC News - The alleged enslavement occurred in Raqqa, Syria, which was an Islamic State stronghold.

WHEN:

ABC News - The bail application hearing was held on Thursday and Friday, with continuation scheduled for June 15.

ABC News - The Ahmad family moved from Melbourne to Syria via Turkey in 2013 and 2014.

ABC News - Australian officials found the Yazidi woman who alleged enslavement in 2019.

WHY:

ABC News - The lawyer argued that the slavery charges had never before been tried in Victoria state, suggesting the hearing would take longer than other criminal trials.

HOW:

ABC News - The proposed bail conditions include electronic monitoring and surveillance of Ahmad's phone.

ABC News - Two police officers testified that control orders could not legally be used instead of or in conjunction with bail conditions.

ABC News - Detective Senior Constable Marc Clendenning stated that electronic monitoring would not mitigate the risk posed by Ahmad.

(UPDATED June 5, 2026 17:38 UTC)

Zeinab Ahmad, along with her mother Kawsar Ahmad, is facing serious slavery charges in a Melbourne court, accused of enslaving a Yazidi teenager in Syria between 2017 and 2018. As part of her bail application, Zeinab has offered to wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet and undergo religious counseling, but the prosecution argues that the nature of the charges, which carry a maximum penalty of 25 years, poses a significant risk. The bail hearing will continue on June 15, as the court considers the unique circumstances of these charges, which have never been tried in Victoria state.