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.
The move was announced and defended by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison; it was met with scepticism internationally and uproar in New Zealand.
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.
[1][2][3] According to ABC News journalist Dylan Welch, she experienced second thoughts and unsuccessfully attempted to call her mother in order to return to Australia.
[11][12] 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.
Massey University teaching fellow Dr John Battersby, who specialises in counter-terrorism and intelligence said that Aden would be interviewed upon arrival to New Zealand to ascertain the extent of her involvement and association with ISIL.
[8] According to Aden's lawyer, Deborah Manning, she is "looking forward to being in New Zealand and giving her children an opportunity at living here and integrating, and really wishes to have privacy for them to allow them to settle in here and come to terms with everything they have been through.
"[8] By contrast, in late July 2021, Collins described Aden as a terrorist for marrying into the Islamic State "death cult," questioning the sufficiency of security arrangements.
"[22] During a state visit to the New Zealand city of Queenstown in late May 2021, Morrison reiterated Australia's decision not to allow Aden to return on the grounds that she was not an Australian citizen.
[25] By contrast, University of Auckland law Associate-Professor John Ip criticised Australia's decision to revoke Aden's citizenship as an example of "legalised NIMBYism with dual citizens as objects.
[10] Legal expert Paul Buchanan stated that prosecutors would have to prove that Aden supported ISIL for her to be charged under anti-terror legislation such as the Terrorism Suppression Act.
[10] Similar sentiments were echoed by University of Waikato law Professor Alexander Gillespie who stated that steps needed to be taken to integrate Aden's two children into New Zealand society.