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VIC:Accused ISIS bride to stay behind bars after bail loss

An accused "ISIS bride" will remain behind bars after a magistrate found there was no compelling evidence to show she renounces the terrorist group.

Zeinab Ahmad, 31, looked straight ahead as Chief Magistrate Lisa Hannan refused her application for bail in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday afternoon.

Ahmad was charged with slavery offences in May after returning to Australia with other family members of former Islamic State fighters.

Ahmad moved to Syria with her first husband Dawod in January 2015 and he became a member of Islamic State before he was killed in a drone strike in May 2016, the court was told.

Federal police allege it was while she was living with her family in 2017 that Ahmad's father Mohammad bought a teenage girl as a slave for $US10,000.

It's alleged the girl was repeatedly raped and beaten by Mohammad, including an incident where she was hit and dragged down two flights of stairs by the hair.

The girl reported screaming loudly during the incidents so Ahmad and the other family members would have known what was happening, the court was told.

It is not alleged Ahmad assaulted the girl but the teen claims she was "treated very badly" by her.

Judge Hannan said the prosecution case could not be described as weak and the charges were clearly very serious.

"The fact that the applicant faces a maximum of 25 years' imprisonment is clear evidence of parliament's view of the gravity of the alleged offending," she said.

The defence had argued there would be lengthy delays before the case reaches trial, noting there would likely be pre-trial issues and public interest immunity claims.

But Judge Hannan said it was too early to assess the length of any possible delays.

"I accept that this will be a complex disclosure process and ultimately trial but the defence submission that it will be at least three years is speculative at this time," she said.

Judge Hannan accepted Ahmad's young daughter had experienced trauma and the risk of ongoing separation from her mother would cause ongoing psychological harm.

But she rejected the defence submission that it amounted to a hardship in favour of bail.

"It is a sad fact that a parent's ongoing custody affects a child negatively, however that of itself is not exceptional," the judge said.

Ahmad's barrister Grace Morgan previously told the court her client rejected IS and held a deep anger towards the men who enforced its ideals upon her.

The barrister also pointed to statements Ahmad had made to a psychologist, where she referenced her time in Syria has being "11 years of hell".

Judge Hannan found those statements could not be considered compelling evidence that shows Ahmad had renounced IS or changed her beliefs.

"They are made after her arrest, after separation from her daughter and in the context of an application for bail," the judge said.

"They are in my view insufficient to counter the evidence of her words and actions in Syria which exhibit clear risk to the community if they are still adhered to."

The judge referenced social media posts Ahmad allegedly made in 2015 and 2016 where she called for violence against non-believers and the destruction of the US and its allies.

Ahmad was remanded in custody to July when she will next face court for a committal mention hearing.

Her supporters, including her uncle Abraham Abbas and activist Robert Van Aalst, did not respond to reporters' questions outside court.

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