Legendary Aussie bodybuilder Lee Priest has revealed he was on the same flight as a group of ISIS brides, who got special treatment while other passengers were delayed.
Priest spoke out in a video on Instagram on Tuesday where he said the four wives of Islamic State terrorists and their six children who landed in Sydney from Doha were seated two rows in front of him on the flight from Doha.
The champion bodybuilder told Noticer News passengers were ready to get off but had to wait until plain-clothed police officers got on to escort the terror-linked group out of the plane, and said others on board were “very upset” when they realised the ISIS brides were on their flight.
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“If you leave the country to do that you should never be allowed back,” he said.
“And as for the government saying they did not help, I don’t understand – the young kids could get passports, the government definitely had to help. It’s a joke.”
Priest said the ISIS group were quiet on board, but that one young girl kept looking at him.
“I guess she had not seen so many tattoos,” he said.
He also said in an Instagram comment it was lucky other passengers were not aware ahead of time the group were on board or “there would’ve been a riot on the plane”.
In his video Priest said: “Welcome home, all that travelling and you’ve got to wait 15 minutes so they take the ISIS brides off, you know the wives that went over to fight with their husbands to kill Australians and Americans? They were on my flight.
“They kept that quiet, but yeah, they get special treatment while I get searched by customs, welcome to Australia people.”
Police said after the arrival of 19 ISIS brides and children in Sydney and Melbourne on Tuesday night that no arrests were made and no charges laid, but said investigations are ongoing.
“The cohort was subject to a range of operational responses, including the searching of belongings and the downloading of their devices for investigative purposes,” police said.
“Police and the JCTTs will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure community safety is upheld. The safety of our communities remains a priority for all agencies.”
The arrivals come after four radical Islamist terrorist wives and nine children flew into Sydney and Melbourne earlier this month, sparking widespread public anger at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for not slapping exclusion orders on the whole cohort.
Three of the women from the first group were arrested after landing – Kawsar Abbas and Zeinab Ahmad in Melbourne for crime of humanity charges relating to alleged slavery, and Janai Safar in Sydney for allegedly being a member of a terrorist group. All remain behind bars after being refused bail.
A fourth woman, Zahra Ahmad, Zeinab’s sister and the second wife of dead ISIS recruiter Muhammad Zahab, was not arrested and was met at Melbourne Airport by a large group of aggressive Muslim males who called female TV reporters “sluts” and punched one in the stomach as they rushed Ahmad out of the terminal.
Mr Albanese has repeatedly denied that the Australian government has facilitated the return of the ISIS brides, but has faced criticism for allowing them to obtain passports and not doing more to prevent them from entering the country.
A poll in February found that 64% of voters opposed allowing the wives and family members of ISIS terrorists to return to Australia, with just 15% in support.
Both ISIS bride groups have been able to fly back to Australia thanks to the efforts of Jewish retired human rights lawyer Robert Van Aalst, who was identified last week at the mastermind behind the the extractions.
Header image: Left, Lee Priest outside the airport. Right, Australian ISIS brides in Syria in 2015 (Facebook).
