Suhayra Aden (born 1995) is a New Zealand woman who travelled to Syria in 2014. It is alleged that while in Syria she joined the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) where she married two Swedish fighters and had three children. In February 2021, she was detained by Turkish authorities while trying to enter the country with her two surviving children. Turkey subsequently dropped charges against Aden and began proceedings to deport her.
Formerly a dual citizen, Aden was stripped of her Australian citizenship in 2020 as a result of allegedly engaging in terrorism. The move was announced and defended by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison; it was met with scepticism internationally and uproar in New Zealand. Australia has a history of deporting non-citizens who have committed crimes or breached their "character test," regardless of whether they have only ever committed crimes in Australia, or if they spent virtually their whole lives in Australia. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern accused Morrison's government of trying to abandon Aden (who had lived in Australia since the age of 6 before allegedly joining ISIL) so New Zealand would have to deal with her and the associated expenses instead. Following a phone conversation, the two leaders agreed to work together in the "spirit of the Australian-New Zealand relationship" to address what Ardern called "quite a complex legal situation."
On 26 July 2021, Ardern announced that Cabinet had agreed to repatriate Aden and her two children on the basis of their status as New Zealand citizens. Aden and her two children will be the first New Zealanders to be repatriated from Syria allegedly associated with ISIL. In mid-August 2021, Aden and her two children landed in New Zealand.
Background
Suhayra Aden was born in 1995 in Auckland's Mount Roskill suburb. Aden grew up in a Somalian refugee family who had become New Zealand citizens. According to a 1 News report, her father was unemployed while her mother was a housewife. At the age of six, she and her family emigrated to Melbourne, Australia where they subsequently acquired Australian citizenship.
Joining ISIL and repatriation
In 2014, Aden traveled to Syria via Turkey and lived under the Islamic State. According to ABC News journalist Dylan Welch, she experienced second thoughts and unsuccessfully attempted to call her mother in order to return to Australia. However, she was part of a group bound for Syria and was unable to escape from them. She subsequently traveled in a van to ISIL-controlled territory. While there, she married and had three children with two Swedish men. One of her children subsequently died of pneumonia in Syria.
Between September and October 2019, the ABC journalists Dylan Welch and Suzanne Drudge met Aden and her children at the Al-Hawl refugee camp in Syria while on an assignment to interview several Australian women who had joined ISIL. Aden reportedly expressed her desire to return to Australia. In 2020, the Australian Government stripped her of her Australian citizenship, leaving her as a New Zealand national. On 15 February 2021, she and her two surviving children (who both have New Zealand citizenship) were detained by Turkish authorities while crossing the border from Idlib. The border crossing was an attempt to escape ISIL. The Turkish Ministry of National Defence alleged that Aden was an ISIL terrorist. On 20 February, the Turkish Government dropped charges against Aden and began proceedings to deport her.
On 9 March 2021, Radio New Zealand reported than an unidentified Turkish Foreign Ministry official stated that New Zealand Foreign Affairs officials had indicated they would take Aden home but to expect delays due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. That same day, an unidentified New Zealand cabinet minister stated that Aden would be "free subject to conditions" upon returning to New Zealand. Justice Minister Andrew Little and Police Minister Poto Williams indicated that Aden would be subject to monitoring under "Control Orders," which were criticized by Opposition Leader Judith Collins as insufficient.