Melbourne mother accused of showing IS propaganda to her children

Melbourne mother showed Islamic State propaganda to her children, police allege Tue 14 Jul 2026 at 5:30pm In short: Police allege a Melbourne woman facing terrorism charges showed Islamic State propaganda videos to her children about slaughtering "disbelievers" with guns and knives. Police have opposed bail being granted to Rayann El Houli, one of the so-called "ISIS Brides" who returned to Australia after spending years in Syria. What's next? Magistrate Brett Sonnet will announce the bail decision next Monday. A Melbourne woman facing terrorism charges showed her children Islamic State propaganda videos about slaughtering "disbelievers" with guns and knives, police allege. This week, police opposed bail being granted to Rayann El Houli, one of the so-called "ISIS Brides" who returned to Australia after spending years in Syria. Ms El Houli is facing charges of being a member of a terrorist organisation and entering or remaining in a declared area, offences that carry a maximum 10-year jail term. The mother-of-four is currently being held in the Dame Phyllis Frost women's prison. In June, defence lawyers told the Melbourne Magistrates' Court the 34-year-old had renounced Islamic State and violent jihad. But police this week said there was no evidence she had changed her views and that she had not participated in a deradicalisation program since returning to Australia in late September 2025. Ms El Houli was allowed to live in the community for eight months before she was charged and taken into custody on May 28 this year, the court heard. "It wasn't until shortly before her arrest that we established we had enough evidence to support a prosecution,"Australian Federal Police officer Paul Sherlock said. The AFP obtained videos which allegedly depict Ms El Houli showing her young children terrorist propaganda material in 2015, while they were living in Syria. According to a transcript, Ms El Houli told her children that disbelievers would be put "in hellfire". One video depicted Ms El Houli's young child holding a toy gun and her mother allegedly asking: "How do you hold the weapon?" In the same exchange, she allegedly asks the child, "Did you see how the Mujahideen kill the Kuffar [the infidels] with the knife? Look at me. How do they slaughter them with the knife, how do they slaughter them with the knife?" Senior Constable Sherlock said he believed Ms El Houli posed an unacceptable risk of spreading extremist ideology in the community and to her children if granted bail. The court heard that Ms El Houli left Australia in 2014 with her then-husband Allak Hamad and two children, and that she gave birth to two more while in Syria. Prosecutors allege she lived under Islamic State rule, remarrying after the deaths of her IS fighter husband Hamad and a second husband Abdulkadehr Assad, who was also a militant. A third marriage to another IS member, Mohammed Noor Masri, ended in divorce, prosecutors said. While in Syria, Ms El Houli allegedly contacted family in Australia and sent them messages and pictures, including of guns in her home. In 2019, Ms El Houli and her children were detained by Kurdish forces at the al-Hawl displaced persons camp in northern Syria. The family was smuggled out of the camp and into Lebanon in June 2025, the court heard. The group returned to Australia months later. Defence barrister Peter Morrissey SC said his client regretted putting her children in harm's way and had lived a mundane life since returning to Australia. She had acquired a drivers licence and regularly took her children to swimming lessons and soccer practice, he said. Mr Morrissey said his client suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and was undergoing hospital tests to determine whether she had multiple sclerosis. He said his client had renounced ISIS and was now "very willing" to participate in a deradicalisation program. Arguing against bail, prosecutor Andrew Sprague said the "potential for catastrophic harm" meant Ms El Houli should remain in custody while her case progressed through the courts. Magistrate Brett Sonnet will announce the bail decision next Monday.