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The Australian government won’t be forced to repatriate 11 women and 20 children from detention camps in northern Syria after a ruling by a Federal Court judge.
They’re being held by the Autonomous Administration of North East Syria (AANES) and its defence arm, the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Save the Children launched the legal fight for their return, hopeful previous repatriations of women and children would be relied on by the court to force the federal government’s hand.
The Morrison government repatriated a group in 2019, and four women and 13 children were returned by the Albanese government in October 2022.
In a hearing in September, Save the Children argued the Commonwealth has sufficient power and control to have the women released from detention and sought a writ of habeas corpus to have them returned to Australia.
The women are all Australian citizens and their children are either citizens or eligible for citizenship.
But Justice Mark Moshinsky ruled on Friday that the Australian government did not have that control, and the case should be dismissed.
Save the Children also sought a judicial review over what they said was a non-decision by the government on whether or not to repatriate.
They argued the non-decision was in fact a decision not to seek the return of the women and children.
Moshinsky dismissed the case on that ground also, finding there was no such decision to be reviewed.
The 31 women and children who were part of the case are among 34 Australians being held in detention camps run by the AANES and SDF.
Those groups are supported by the Global Coalition Against Daesh, which includes Australia, the US and the UK.
Peter Morrissey, for Save the Children, had argued the interests of those groups aligned strongly around a desire for countries to quickly repatriate citizens.
He said representatives had repeatedly stated they were ready and willing to facilitate the return of foreign citizens to their home countries, and that they want and need to do that.
This is a developing story and this article will be updated.
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