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- [00:03]
Narrator
The Australian Federal Police is Australia's national policing agency. Its aim to protect Australians and Australia's way of life. The AFP works with Australian and international partners to combat cybercrime, online, child sexual exploitation, transnational serious organised crime, fraud and corruption and terrorism, espionage and foreign interference. The AFP is the lead investigative agency for all forms of human trafficking and modern slavery in Australia. In 2023-24, the AFP received 382 reports of human trafficking related offences. 91 of these reports were forced marriage allegations. Forced marriage, which has been illegal in Australia since 2013, is often a complex and underreported crime. These are the real stories of the afp. Everyday people doing legendary work. Operation Crystal Fields is the most tragic operation we have covered in our Crime Interrupted podcast series. It affected everyone who worked on it, but all of the people we interviewed wanted to talk about it. So the death of a young woman called Rukia isn't in vain. Please be advised that this episode contains details listeners may find distressing. Listener discretion is advised. Forced marriage laws came into effect in Australia in 2013, making it illegal to cause someone to enter into a forced marriage or to be a party to one. The legislation was further strengthened two years later to expand the definition of forced marriage and increase penalties. It was a significant step in combating human trafficking and protecting vulnerable people. AFP Detective Superintendent Jane Crossling has spent years working in the human trafficking area.
- [02:14]
Detective Superintendent Jane Crossling
I was a superintendent based in Melbourne and had overarching responsibility for the human trafficking investigation team based in our Melbourne office. And we first became aware of a report via an educator in Victoria in August 2019 that there was a female student at a school who was indicating that she was going to be married against her will.
- [02:44]
Narrator
The student attended a school in a country town in Victoria. The Australian Federal Police were contacted after the student disclosed her predicament to a teacher and a social worker at her school.
- [02:57]
Detective Superintendent Jane Crossling
When we receive any of these sorts of reports, whether it's a forced marriage or any of the other other forms of human trafficking, we will very much in the first instance want to know who is the victim and what is his or her disposition. So are they currently in a safe setting? Our very first goal is to locate the victim that's subject of the report and then determine are they safe. So this was certainly our first concern. Where is this girl that the educators were speaking of?
- [03:35]
Narrator
In the area of human trafficking, ensuring the safety of victims is paramount to the afp.
- [03:42]
Detective Superintendent Jane Crossling
As soon as there is a victim that we're becoming aware of that we simply need to go out and respond. So it is most definitely a victim centric crime, and that the very first thing we would aim to do is attempt to either make contact with that victim or actually go and see the victim in person, if that's at all possible.
- [04:03]
Narrator
The two AFP members tasked to speak to the schoolgirl were Sue Aiken and Kiara Lascaris. Both will never forget the time they spent with the young woman. Sue explains, it was August 2019.
- [04:20]
Detective Sue Aiken
I was requested, along with a fellow colleague of mine, to go to a country town and meet a student at a school. She was possibly a victim of forced marriage. That's one of the offences under human trafficking that we deal with. So my partner and I went out and met this girl. Her name is Rekiya, and we asked her if she wanted to tell us what was going on with her. And she was saying how her mother had arranged a marriage for her which she did not want. We spoke to her for quite a while and some of the things that she said to us indicated that the marriage could happen. Soon as the man was in town, she was quite adamant she didn't want to marry him. And we explained to her that forced marriage is not legal here and she doesn't have to do it. But I think family pressure for some people is a bit too much because she still loved her family and didn't want to do anything against them or shame the family, but she certainly didn't want to marry this guy.
- [05:25]
Narrator
Rukia was in the middle of completing year 12. She had lived in Australia with her family since 2013. What was Ciara's first impression when she met her?
- [05:37]
Detective Kiara Lascaris
I just recall thinking, gosh, she's beautiful and I've got daughters who are getting to the similar age. And yeah, she just looked like a typical teenager at school. She had plans for her future and yeah, she just looked like a typical teenager.
- [05:53]
Narrator
For AFP investigators, cases like Rukia's are delicate. Although she was still at school, she was around 20 years old, so she was an adult. The most important thing for sue and Kiara was to act according to her wishes. After listening to her story, they let her know all the ways help was available to her.
- [06:16]
Detective Kiara Lascaris
She was definitely above 18 when we spoke to her at the time. There's different reporting obligations if she was a child, but no, she's over 18. So that's why we offered her the choice. We were willing to go and speak to the mother and explain to her about the Australian laws in relation to forced marriage, but she declined that and thought it would actually make her situation worse. So we had to take into consideration what her requests were.
- [06:43]
Narrator
Rukia explained to sue and Kiara how she had come to be promised in marriage to a man she only knew as Mohammed. Sue and Kiara were concerned that Mohammed was in town. This increased the risk that a Nikka ceremony might take place. This kind of ceremony would officially declare their intention to marry. Components of a Nikka ceremony include the paying of a dowry, or referred to in Afghan culture as a Maria, which Ruqiah said had already happened. So had the first Nikka ceremony. But sue and Kiara didn't know that.
- [07:24]
Detective Sue Aiken
She told us that he was in town, so that made us more concerned for her safety. But even though she didn't want to come with us, after we had spoken with her, we went to the motel she said he was staying at.
- [07:35]
Narrator
Kiara couldn't imagine how Rukia must have been feeling.
- [07:39]
Detective Kiara Lascaris
Imagine, just again I think of my daughters and being put in that situation. A stranger having to marry because your mother's received money from them and you've got no choice in the matter.
- [07:52]
Narrator
Sue could see the complexities of the position Rukia was in.
- [07:57]
Detective Sue Aiken
It's hard because you really want to help her, because that's what we're there for. And so our role is to first listen to what she wants to tell us and then little by little bit, more comes out. And then we think, oh, she doesn't know him, he's from Interstate, but he's here now. Her mum knows he's here. There was a ceremony recently. Is she going to be forced to marry this weekend? Girls aren't always privy to know what's happening around them, but about them. So we suggested, look, we don't think this is quite right and. Because if he's here, it could be more urgent than what you think. She was of the belief that she would have at least eight months or so to finish school and all that sort of stuff. She didn't want to come with us. They still love their family and they don't want to shame their family. And she was sort of thinking, oh, but they're telling me everything's going to be okay. I'm happy to not go with you. I want to stay here, I want to stay at school and so we always respect their wishes. She's not a very young child, so we can't have any control over what her decision is. We can only put some safety mechanisms in place and give her a way out if she gets stuck. So that was making sure Vic Pole in the Town was aware and they were wonderful for her. Red Cross have a program to support people and they could have offered her accommodation or a phone, anything like that, but she didn't want that at the time.
- [09:28]
Narrator
During the time they spent with her, the two investigators heard how Rukia had made her opposition to the marriage very clear to her mother.
- [09:37]
Detective Kiara Lascaris
And I'm not sure what was going on in Rukia's head, whether she thought she could convince her mum during that time that she didn't want to go ahead with it.
- [09:45]
Narrator
But there was the complication that the Maria of over $10,000 had already been paid.
- [09:52]
Detective Sue Aiken
She said to us that she had told her mum, she doesn't want to marry, she doesn't want any of this. She doesn't even really know this person. But Mum had been paid a dowry to have her marry this man. So I guess once you've got the money, you've got to go through with the deal.
- [10:09]
Narrator
The two AFP investigators were worried about Rukia. When it was time to return to the office, Kiara remembers having a bad feeling about the situation.
- [10:20]
Detective Kiara Lascaris
It was a late finish that day because we'd have had to drive. But I actually made the effort to go back and type out everything that she said that day while it was still fresh in my mind and make sure there was an alert on for her. Yeah, I just had this feeling that it wasn't going to go well for her.
- [10:36]
Narrator
Unfortunately, not being able to help her on the day didn't mean the AFP couldn't do other things. One of the first things they did was verify Mohammed's details, which they'd got from the motel.
- [10:51]
Detective Kiara Lascaris
You can understand she's in such a difficult position, she didn't want to leave. So we actually, on the day, did a few inquiries. We checked to see what his status was for, like immigration. The other concern we had for Ruki is that he might want to take her overseas. So that was another thing that we checked. We also went past the mosque just to see if it was open, but it wasn't at that time, and then.
- [11:16]
Detective Sue Aiken
Got back and kept doing inquiries, verifying whether Mum got a dowry or not, if there were any passports recently issued, that sort of thing, just to make sure that she's OK and just to keep in touch with the agencies where I would speak to the counsellor quite regularly to say, is she at school? Did you see her today? Has she come to you? And so we did that for quite a while.
- [11:43]
Narrator
There were so many areas of concern for Rukia.
- [11:47]
Detective Kiara Lascaris
I suppose it is in Hindsight, but I did have a bad feeling about Rukia. I mean, there's so many warning signs with the cash being exchanged and the travel from Perth had gone to a lot of effort, and I just knew that she was in such a dangerous situation at the time.
- [12:05]
Narrator
Rukia's struggle is so common for girls being forced to marry.
- [12:09]
Detective Sue Aiken
I don't think she had options. I think she was going to follow along the family path. I believe her mother was forced to marry and maybe that's what made her mother think she should do the same. But she must have struggled at school to see what other kids can and can't do, and she didn't have a choice in that.
- [12:29]
Narrator
Jane explains some of the complexities of forced marriage.
- [12:33]
Detective Superintendent Jane Crossling
Forced marriage can be a very challenging situation that the victim is actually placed in, where they're perhaps having to balance a desire not to let their family down, where perhaps it is the family that is urging the marriage, or indeed threatening that the marriage needs to take place. So I can absolutely understand, in these circumstances, why victims may not feel comfortable in coming forward and telling anyone, let alone law enforcement. They may not actually know that in Australia, forced marriage is, in fact a criminal offence. So that is a challenge as well. If perhaps some of our victims knew that, they may feel more comfortable in coming forward and telling someone. But I think in many instances, they don't know how to get out of the situation that they're in and they're not sure what their avenues are.
- [13:26]
Narrator
Sue knew that support was still available for Rukia.
- [13:31]
Detective Sue Aiken
Vic Pole was still involved. Red Cross was still involved. She had a caseworker for Red Cross and they were trying to make sure she was ok, too. And then there was talk that she was married.
- [13:43]
Narrator
And over in WA, news of the marriage came at the end of 2019, less than three months since the AFP investigators had spoken to Rukia. It was also upsetting to hear that she had been taken all the way across the country to Western Australia, effectively separating her from all her family and friends. Losing her family or damaging her relationship with them had been Rukia's greatest fear. And, ironically, the reason she hadn't wanted the AFP to step in and take action. And Vansu received the worst possible news.
- [14:23]
Detective Sue Aiken
And then it was in January 2020 that, yeah, I found out she'd been murdered. The counsellor rang me one night and I happened to have the phone next to me and I answered it and she'd said, I think she's been murdered by her husband. I think I just sat there in Stunned silence for quite a while. And then I rang my supervisor and my partner and told them what had happened.
- [14:52]
Detective Kiara Lascaris
I really recall as being told that she'd been murdered and. And how horrible the news was, especially like if you've spoken to someone and, you know, only for a short time, but she really was a beautiful girl and had all her hopes and dreams. And just to hear that she'd been murdered in such a horrific way and all the way away from her family and friends, taken away to Perth, it was just really devastating. And that's one of the reasons I kind of stepped away from the next part of the investigation, because it was just a bit too raw.
- [15:26]
Narrator
The school counsellor's call about Rukia's murder had come in over the weekend. The first thing sue did when she got to work was to verify the news with the Western Australian Homicide Squad.
- [15:39]
Detective Sue Aiken
And there would have been a flurry of emails and phone calls, the time delay with our different times in different states, and it was verified that this had happened. And I think I even read in the media that he'd walked into the police station covered in blood and said I'd killed my wife.
- [15:57]
Narrator
Jane could see the impact of Rukia's murder on her team.
- [16:01]
Detective Superintendent Jane Crossling
I think when we learned of Rukia's murder, I think we were all quite stunned. We're very grateful that the educator from Victoria reached out to us, because up until that point we hadn't actually heard. And we're relieved that we were able to find out via that educator. But the impact on the team was quite apparent immediately, particularly those who had had engagement with her. But everybody who had been working in human trafficking at that time definitely felt a great concern that this is the worst situation that you could possibly imagine arising not only from a forced marriage, but then a violent marriage that led to a murder. I could see that the impact on the team members within the human trafficking team, it was. It was really evident. And we definitely reached out to our colleagues in Red Cross and spoke with them as well, and they were equally shocked and concerned by that news. And of course, we very, very quickly, as soon as we learned the news, reached out to West Australia Police Force, who had carriage of the homicide investigation and were able to immediately offer whatever support we possibly could, including providing as much detail and context about everything that we were aware of up until that moment when she was, in fact, murdered over in Perth.
- [17:30]
Narrator
It was Western Australia Police Force homicide Detective Matthew Long who was investigating rukia's.
- [17:36]
Detective Matthew Long
Murder at 11:33am on that day, on the 18th of January, 2020, Mohammad was speaking to Rakiya's brother on the phone. Rakiya's brother was alleging that Mohammed was not treating Reqiyah in the manner that he should. They did have an argument at that time which resulted in Mohammed hanging up the phone. Rakiya's brother rang her back A short time later at about 11:43am they had a short conversation. However, Muhammad interrupted the conversation and Rakiya can be heard to be saying, don't touch me, don't hit me. And he was also heard telling her to shut up. Nobody was talking to her brother at that time because they were clearly commencing what ended up being a physical altercation. A short time later at 11:53am, Muhammad called Rakir's brother back. And in Rakir's brother's memory, he says Muhammad told him, if you're a man, come and get the dead body of your sister. Muhammad, in his recollection, says he told Raqiya's brother, I killed your sister. Now what to do? And then he hang up.
- [18:48]
Narrator
The day before, Muhammad had made a video of what he considered to be Ruqiah's failings as a wife.
- [18:55]
Detective Matthew Long
Mohammed had made a video recording on his mobile telephone and the recording began outside the house. And what he does is he narrates the video as he walks through. He shows the living area is untidy. He moves into the kitchen area and he shows another dirty dishes in the sink that had not been washed. He walked into the courtyard area of the house outside the house and he then returns back into the house and finds Rakiyah asleep on the bed. It's quite obvious during that narrated video that Rakiya was not fulfilling the domestic duties as expected by Muhammad.
- [19:33]
Narrator
Another problem Mohammed had with his new wife was that she would not consummate the marriage. The fact that she refused to cook and clean and have a relationship with her new husband shows Ruqiah was prepared to resist the path laid out for her by Muhammad and her mother. She had been sent to Perth with this man she hardly knew and dug her heels in.
- [19:56]
Detective Matthew Long
There was definitely resistance from Rakiyah. She had mentioned clearly before coming to Western Australia that she didn't want to be married to this man, she didn't want to relocate to Western Australia. And no doubt the evidence collected throughout the investigation came to show that she was reluctant to participate in any intimacy with Mohammed. She pushed back regularly on that. He thought that he was in control of the relationship and that she should sort of bow down to his demands. There were a lot of demands made upon her, but she wasn't a shrinking violet in as far as she would just oblige by doing everything he asked. She did push back and he came to tell investigators that she would stand up to him, she would give him the finger on occasions, and he found that quite disrespectful.
- [20:45]
Narrator
After the murder and after the phone call to Rukia's brother to tell him to come and get the body of his dead sister, Mohammed turned himself in at his local police station.
- [20:55]
Detective Matthew Long
Mohammed walked into the Mirrabooka police station located in the northern suburbs of Perth. He waited patiently for a police officer at the front desk and then he said in broken English, excuse me, I've killed my wife. He signalled he had cut her throat. Mohammed had visible blood on his hands and clothing. The attending officers asked him to clarify what he was saying before taking him into custody. Mohammed's home address was identified in the neighbouring suburb of Belcatta and emergency service vehicles, including police and St. John Ambulance, were immediately deployed upon arrival, Rakia was located on the kitchen floor with significant injuries that were not survivable. A large kitchen knife was discovered on the floor beside her. Homicide squad detectives were recalled to duty to investigate Rekiya's death.
- [21:45]
Narrator
In any investigation like this one, the police only get the story from the surviving person.
- [21:51]
Detective Matthew Long
It's really hard to know exactly what happened behind those closed doors. There was only two people there at the time. No doubt Mohammed lost his temper and did what he did before taking himself directly to the police station to hand himself in. Now, there was times later where he could be heard during his police interview where he was emotional and crying.
- [22:11]
Narrator
Mohammad pleaded guilty to killing his wife.
- [22:14]
Detective Matthew Long
By pleading guilty, Muhammad receives a significant discount in his sentence. Could be around the 15 to 20% mark depending on other factors. The presiding judge did take into account other mitigating factors and decided to settle on a sentence of life imprisonment with a 19 year minimum parole period.
- [22:39]
Narrator
AFP Detective Inspector Trevor Russell had taken a position in the human trafficking team just after Rukia's murder.
- [22:46]
Detective Inspector Trevor Russell
When I first started with the human trafficking team in Southern Command, Rukia had been murdered about 10 days prior. I'd just returned from a number of years offshore and my first day in the role. Jacob, who was the case officer and had been performing roles as the acting team leader, briefed me on what had happened and what the team had been dealing with over the last couple of weeks, but also before that and all of the interactions with Rekiya. So I came in, I Guess in that period between where we had an active forced marriage investigation and then it turned into dealing with the aftermath of Rekiya's death and assisting Western Australian Police with their murder investigation.
- [23:36]
Narrator
Amid the horror of what had happened to Rukia, Trevor had full confidence in the AFP's human trafficking team to bring her husband before the court.
- [23:45]
Detective Inspector Trevor Russell
I was incredibly lucky that the team that we had working in human trafficking at the time, and to this day for that matter, were incredibly skilled investigators. And the. The case officer, Jacob Purcell, was one of the best detectives. Probably my focus in the first instance as the team leader was to try and look after our people. While we regularly deal with tragic events, difficult stories, this one in particular hit home and trying to make sure that the team was okay. So we do have a number of services within the organisation, but just looking after each other and making sure we had the right people working on the job and then making some decisions about the what next. Because in the first instance it was just to check how the people were going, but then the decisions about, well, are we going to be pursuing Commonwealth investigation or is our actions now stopped because we no longer have Rekiya to provide a statement to us and the decisions around what goes from there.
- [24:53]
Narrator
Detective Senior Constable Jacob Purcell had taken over the case after Rukia's murder.
- [25:00]
Detective Senior Constable Jacob Purcell
I was doing my first stint as acting as the team leader for the human trafficking team. And so In January of 2020, I was responsible for the human trafficking team at Melbourne and then in that role, had an overview of the team's caseload and from then really managed the fallout from being notified of Rukia's murder.
- [25:25]
Narrator
Over in wa, Jacob approached the investigation as an exercise in finding the truth.
- [25:31]
Detective Senior Constable Jacob Purcell
There was a real sense of needing to find some justice for what had happened and needing to get to the truth of the circumstances that had led to her death. Because ultimately an investigation is a search for the objective truth and as investigators, we have, I guess, an innate sense of curiosity and discovering that truth. I certainly felt compelled to find out exactly what had happened and why it had happened and the circumstances that led to her murder, including the alleged, well, now substantiated, forced marriage.
- [26:09]
Narrator
Jacob set out to interview everyone who'd had contact with Rukia in a quest to find out if indeed she was a victim of forced marriage. It was new territory for the team because even though the legislation against forced marriage had existed since 2013, there had never been a conviction for it. Victims were usually reluctant to come forward and give evidence, not wanting to bring shame on their Families at the time.
- [26:38]
Detective Senior Constable Jacob Purcell
We were reasonably fortunate that some of the inquiries had already been started by the Western Australia Police Homicide squad, because that investigation commenced immediately after her murder and they identified a number of witnesses. I went back and re interviewed some of her family members, school teachers, and we already had the teachers who had initially reported to the AFP that Ruqia was at risk of forced marriage. And from the teachers, we identified some of Ruqia's close friends. From those friends identified other community members, such as her driving instructors, who she'd spoken to about not wanting to get married. And it spanned out the. The school was really critical in being a starting point for the investigation to be able to identify Rukia's network.
- [27:36]
Narrator
In going back and talking to the teachers that sue and Ciara had spoken to months earlier, Jacob was able to piece together a clear picture of Rukia's wishes.
- [27:46]
Detective Senior Constable Jacob Purcell
The teachers were telling us that Ruqia had come to them and expressed real concern that she didn't want to get married and that her family were pressuring her into it. I was told that she was so bubbly and lively and a real warm spirit and character and that that nature seemed to change over a period of time when this marriage was going on in the background. So the teachers clocked that there was a real change in her disposition and so they look out for those indicators.
- [28:23]
Narrator
I guess in among the stories of her loss, in talking to Rukia's friends, Jacob heard lots of anecdotes of how funny and lively she was.
- [28:33]
Detective Senior Constable Jacob Purcell
Yes, I did get some of those anecdotes from friends and also saw it in a lot of videos that had been recorded on her phone, for example, photos that friends had shown me where she was dancing around before this marriage. She really seemed to embrace and love life. So that definitely came out from her friends and certainly from some of the other community members who were witnesses, gave an account that was pretty consistent with that Ruqia being very bubbly and lively and energetic and having dreams and hopes for the future. So that side certainly came through. But balanced against that, or in contrast to that was, and the tragedy around the circumstances that she was forced into this marriage that she didn't want to go through with.
- [29:23]
Narrator
In his investigation, Jacob found out that Rukia had taken some extraordinary steps to try and convince her mother to not force her to marry.
- [29:32]
Detective Senior Constable Jacob Purcell
She'd tried as much as she could, as Rukia could, to explain to her own mother that she didn't want to, and her mother dismissed that outright. She had had a number of conversations and some of them quite heated arguments where she had told her mother that she wasn't doing this, wasn't going through with it, and her mother had said, well, are you the mother or am I? I'm gonna make this decision. So, essentially, it's not your call on whether or not you get married, it's mine, because I'm your mother and you don't know what's best for you. I do. And you're gonna go through with this. So, yes, she definitely told her mother and there was a fair bit of evidence to that effect. She told her driving instructor, she told her friends, she told her teachers, and she told police that she'd spoken to her mother and her mother wasn't listening.
- [30:31]
Narrator
By the time he'd collected all the witness statements, Jacob felt like he knew Rukia.
- [30:37]
Detective Senior Constable Jacob Purcell
You get a window into this person's life, particularly through their mobile phone, where we record so much these days of our lives, photos, videos, notes. So I think that just added to my desire to drive for justice and for the truth to come out about this forced marriage that she was a victim of. So it personalizes it and gives the case a human face and a human spirit. Even though I never met Rukia before she died, I feel like I know quite a lot about her from all of the material that I gathered, the people that I spoke to, who knew her intimately. It gives more purpose, I think, to the investigation, to the prosecution.
- [31:30]
Narrator
When Jacob examined the case around Rukia and the case for a charge of forced marriage against her mother, he took his findings to Trevor.
- [31:39]
Detective Inspector Trevor Russell
Jacob came to me and said that he'd reviewed the evidence, he'd reviewed the law, the legislation as he saw it, and thought that there were grounds for an investigation to be pursued to uncover the truth. And our hope was that if we were supported in that decision, that there could be a silver lining through setting a precedent so that others potentially would be deterred from criminal activity around forced marriage.
- [32:08]
Narrator
While it was too late to save Rukia, a conviction against her mother would send a clear message to anyone in the community contemplating that course of action, to think twice.
- [32:18]
Detective Inspector Trevor Russell
It was unprecedented doing this without a victim statement. So we needed to get buy in from our own management. So Detective Superintendent Jane Crossling was a huge supporter of the investigative strategy. And then we went and met with the Commonwealth prosecutors and they were very supportive that despite the fact we didn't have a victim statement and we'd be relying on hearsay evidence that they thought there was still a case that could be presented.
- [32:45]
Narrator
Detective Superintendent Jane Crossling was supportive of pursuing a potential forced marriage prosecution.
- [32:53]
Detective Superintendent Jane Crossling
Trevor and Jacob are absolutely excellent investigators and it wasn't that long after Rukia's passing that we did have conversations around the fact that we felt that we could do more than just have the husband charged with murder and have that prosecuted in Western Australian courts. We sat around and we did work out what might our options be. And we were very passionate about the idea of pursuing what could be a very challenging investigation. We weren't blind to the fact that these investigations are very challenging anyway. We had previous experiences where we struggled to present to Commonwealth DPP who are the prosecutors for these matters, with sufficient evidence in previous matters that would satisfy them to go forward with, with laying charges and running a prosecution. So that was definitely in our minds when we talked together as a team. But despite that, and despite our concerns that we would struggle to meet the necessary evidentiary thresholds that are really important in running these sorts of criminal matters, we decided to engage with Commonwealth dpp and we got together and had a meeting with them where we basically said, if we were to be able to meet the requirements around sufficiency of evidence, would it be in the public interest to actually seek a prosecution for those that were involved in the forced marriage of Ruqiah? And we were very, very grateful in that engagement with Commonwealth dpp, they were able to confirm that, yes, they did believe that they have a public interest test for going forward with prosecution. So for all matters that the Commonwealth prosecutes, you have to meet that two prong test. One is sufficiency of evidence and the other is that it's in the public interest. So they did indeed say that it was in the public interest. And I think we were all really motivated by that. As soon as Commonwealth Deputy had confirmed that, it was then a matter of turning our sights on how are we actually going to build a brief of evidence around what had taken place in the lead up to the marriage. We felt very encouraged. We had some other matters where they didn't get that far, different types of offending at times, but I think the team is quite resilient. So with that in mind, that's how we actively pursued getting that evidence together.
- [35:32]
Narrator
A potential prosecution for forced marriage wasn't without its difficulties.
- [35:37]
Detective Inspector Trevor Russell
Our legislation is quite new, relatively speaking. It was only enacted in March 2013 in its current iteration. So a lot of the work that we do in the human trafficking team is groundbreaking and it's really challenging because you don't have a left and right of arc to refer back to. It's also incredibly challenging once we put our briefs of evidence forward for consideration for the prosecutors as well, because they don't have that case law that they can lean back on. So, yeah, it took a few leaps of faith from different levels within and external to the AFP for this case to progress. And we also relied really heavily on the courage of a lot of the witnesses who were prepared to come forward and tell Rekiya's story on her behalf. That would have been incredibly difficult for them as well.
- [36:23]
Narrator
The way Trevor saw it, the process of charging her mother gave Rukia a chance to be heard and also it.
- [36:31]
Detective Inspector Trevor Russell
Was an opportunity for Rekiya's voice to be heard. The challenge we had in this instance was in victim based crime, the prosecutions rely heavily on the victim's statement. Now, whilst Rekiya had met with AFP members in the early days and had told part of her story, none of that was in an evidentiary form. And one of the key things with human trafficking is so much of our work, the vast majority of our work is around education, prevention and disruption of offending. It's only a very, very small proportion of our work that ends up in a prosecution before the court. So this is where we want to encourage people to come forward and talk to us.
- [37:16]
Narrator
Coercion would play a big part in proving the charge of forced marriage.
- [37:21]
Detective Senior Constable Jacob Purcell
To prove a forced marriage offence, it has to involve threat. Coercion or deception are the three key pillars of establishing a forced marriage offence. So we relied on coercion. Rukia being coerced into the marriage by her mother, which was like an abusive power of the relationship. Because Rukia was the daughter and was in a vulnerable position compared to her mother, there was an abuse of that relationship, of the power dynamics in that relationship.
- [37:55]
Narrator
As the human trafficking team came closer to charging Rukia's mother with forced marriage offences, Trevor wasn't immune to pushback through members of the community. Trevor often heard the sentiment that perhaps family members had already been punished enough.
- [38:12]
Detective Inspector Trevor Russell
There was a phrase that I heard quite a few times is that hasn't the family been punished enough? I think we all can buy into that. But this is not about punishment, it's not about retribution. This was about, first of all, searching for the truth. We never pursue our investigations trying to get to a certain point. We just want to find the truth. And if that means that the truth is there aren't charges to be laid, that's a good outcome for us. But also what we really wanted was there to be a deterrent if there was a prosecution and there was a conviction, we wanted this to be a deterrent to others who may be looking to engage in this behaviour with members of their family.
- [38:56]
Narrator
At Rukia's mother's trial, the prosecution had to prove the coercion.
- [39:01]
Detective Senior Constable Jacob Purcell
There's about six different elements that coercion can include, and there was about three that we relied upon, that we alleged that Ruqia's mother had demonstrated these elements of coercion, which essentially means that she had controlled and manipulated Ruqiya and pushed her into this marriage, and that Ruqia wasn't freely and fully consenting to the marriage, that even though she went through with it, it wasn't her own free will, her choice. She did it because she was coerced and manipulated into the marriage.
- [39:37]
Narrator
The case went to court and Rukia's mother was found guilty of causing a person to enter a forced marriage. Her sentencing was particularly tense.
- [39:48]
Detective Senior Constable Jacob Purcell
Yeah, it was very dramatic. When Rukia's mother was sentenced, there were about 15 or 20 community members from the Hazara community, from the country town that had come down to support her mother. And although she had many supporters, this case did divide the community. There were some who sided with Rukia's mother because of these more traditional norms, and then there were others that took the view that, no, she's done the wrong thing. So there was quite a split, but there was several 15 or 20 community members there, family members, in support of Ruqiya's mother. And when the judge handed down her sentence, which was three years imprisonment, there was an outcry, there was shouting and yelling and people getting out of their seats. Ruqia's mother was given what's called a recognizance order, so she could be released from prison after 12 months to serve the remaining two years of her sentence in the community. But that's only effective if you agree to the terms of the recognizance order, which are that you will come out and not commit further offences. It was the most dynamic scene that I've ever seen in a courtroom in 11 years, and it was highly charged with emotion. I don't think she'd expect to go to jail and I don't think the community members who were there with her had expected that to be the outcome.
- [41:25]
Narrator
Trevor arrived to court minutes late and missed these events.
- [41:30]
Detective Inspector Trevor Russell
I wanted to be there, to be with Jacob, to shake his hand, irrespective of the outcome, because of the way he conducted himself and the way others involved the case, conducted themselves throughout. So I was disappointed to have missed it, but I don't think it impacted Jacob's day. He had mixed feelings about the result because he cares very deeply for the family and we're aware that it's another difficult day for them.
- [41:57]
Narrator
In putting together this case, the phrase that kept coming up was, there are no winners here. Everyone involved lost something when Rukia was forced into marriage. The only consolation was that this verdict could help people in this situation in the future.
- [42:17]
Detective Inspector Trevor Russell
How many young women are in this situation where they're in a miserable marriage that they don't want to be in, and the only reason they're in it is because of pressure from their family and they're disconnected from their community or from their friends or whoever it may be. And this is what we're trying to avoid, trying to give people options that they don't have to be going down this path. And I guess the key thing here is that if you come and speak to the AFP or you speak to some of the service providers, it doesn't mean that you're going to be standing in court giving evidence against your family. The prosecution pathway, the criminal justice pathway, is one of the options that is open, but no one is ever forced down that path. The main thing that we want to do is try and support people and to try and help them to escape a situation that they don't want to be in and they shouldn't be in. And it's tragic that despite the best efforts of police services, friends of Wrukia, that we weren't able to help her. But I think that's just made us more doggedly determined to be able to help others in future. And part of that is the legacy of the court case that shows that this is how doggedly determined the investigators will be. It took several years to get to the conclusion that we've reached.
- [43:39]
Narrator
In the end, it was all about justice and deterrence for Jacob.
- [43:44]
Detective Senior Constable Jacob Purcell
Tragically, the outcome is not going to help Rukia. My big drive, because she's no longer with us, was to really use the messaging that comes out of this case, the precedent that's set to prevent this happening to other young women in a similar situation to Rukia in the future. So from one aspect, I hope that this case will act as a deterrent to family members, community members who think about forcing their daughters or their sons into marriage. And on the other hand, I hope that it really raises some awareness for young people that are at risk of being forced into marriage themselves, that there are options for support out there. There is a victim support program run by the Red Cross for human trafficking victims in Australia. Police do want to help, teachers want to help, your community members really want to help, and that if you are forced into marriage, there are some really, really serious and really tragic outcomes that can and do happen. So I guess for me, yes, it was about getting justice and getting the truth for Ruqiya and ensuring that there was some outcome or some consequence of what had happened to her. But just as important, was trying to prevent this from happening to other young women in the future.
- [45:18]
Narrator
To this day, Detective Superintendent Jane Crossling does not know who nominated the human trafficking team for a Commissioner's commendation. Nonetheless, she was pleased the team received recognition for what they achieved.
- [45:34]
Detective Superintendent Jane Crossling
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of going to Melbourne where there was a Commissioners awards ceremony and we received a group citation from the Commissioner in relation to Operation Crystal Fields. And it was a surprise. We did not know who nominated us, but essentially all of those that were involved at any stage of the investigation were put forward as a group, including our West Australian colleagues as well, who we worked so well with. And it was a delightful surprise. I've been with the AFP for 35 years now and worked in a large range of crime types across the breadth of the work that the AFP does. And this particular crime type, in addition to child exploitation, has been probably the most rewarding and challenging, but ultimately satisfying. So I think having that level of recognition, albeit very unexpected, I think it does confirm that the ASP values our effort in relation to this crime type. I think it's that human element, and imagining that we can make a difference to individuals, I think is really, really important, and that we can right some wrongs that have happened to some people or indeed prevent these sorts of crimes before they actually take place. It's very satisfying. So to then receive accommodation and be alongside a team of people that I absolutely loved working with in my time in Melbourne, who are so professional and so dedicated and caring, but balancing that with hard work and empathy, it is a really key moment in my career and I'm really proud of their work.
- [47:26]
Narrator
For Khiara, a good result from the court case means it educates families about the illegality of forced marriage.
- [47:33]
Detective Kiara Lascaris
The outcome can be so serious and so deadly that, yeah, hopefully the message goes out there to families who are considering this at all.
- [47:44]
Narrator
Sue Aiken will never forget the hours she spent with Rukia and hopes that by telling her story, those listening will all end up with a better awareness of the complexities of forced marriage.
- [47:56]
Detective Sue Aiken
I hope that happens. I really do. Then it would be like true justice for her and we want the offence to be taken seriously.
- [48:05]
Narrator
We are going to end with the judge's sentencing remarks made to Rukia's mother. The judge said, you abused your position as her mother, as the person with whom she lived and respected. Whilst you believed you were acting in her best interests, you were not in fact doing so. She sentenced Rukia's mother to three years in prison, with 12 months to be served before she is released under several conditions, including being of good behaviour. In March this year, the Supreme Court of Victoria Court of Appeal rejected Rukia's mother's bid to appeal against the severity of her sentence. If you or someone you know is being forced to marry and you need immediate assistance, you can call 131AFP. That's 131237 or use the AFP's online form to report information regarding human trafficking. For information and confidential support, please contact Australian Red Cross, call 1-800-113015 or visit redcross.org a In addition to victim support provided via the AFP, there is also an additional referral pathway administered by the Salvation Army. This pathway aims to assist victims of human trafficking and modern slavery who are not ready or willing to engage with law enforcement. The AFP offers a lifetime of opportunities with more than 200 diverse roles across Australia and the world. Interested in learning more about how the AFP works to protect Australians against human trafficking and modern slavery? Visit afp.gov au to discover more. The AFP Everyday people doing legendary work.