'ISIS bride' Mariam Raad escapes conviction for entering terrorist-controlled area

Mariam Raad is the widow of ISIS recruiter, Muhammad Zahab. Photo: ABC.

A so-called ‘ISIS bride’ accused of entering parts of Syria that were under the control of the Islamic State terrorist organisation avoided being convicted when she was sentenced.

Mariam Raad, a 32-year-old from the Hilltops town of Young, was on bail earlier this year when she pleaded guilty to a charge of entering or remaining in a declared area.

But when she faced her sentencing in the Goulburn Local Court on Wednesday (12 June), Magistrate Geraldine Beattie released her without convicting her.

Ms Raad was handed a 25-month good behaviour order and told to give a security of $100.

She must also undergo psychiatric/psychological counselling as directed by authorities and continue to engage with reintegration support programs for two years.

Police had originally alleged that Raad willingly travelled to an IS-controlled area of Syria in 2014 to join her husband, Muhammad Zahab.

Zahab left Australia in 2013, joined IS and was reportedly killed by an airstrike in 2018.

Police said Raad had been in the Al Roj Internally Displaced Persons camp in Syria before she returned to Australia in October 2022.

The NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team began investigating her while she was still in Syria, then continued to do so when she returned to Australia.

Raad was granted bail after she was charged in January 2023, then prosecutors announced they were seeking more information later that year.