‘2½ years she will never get back’: Fears Brisbane mum behind bars too long

The family of a 63-year-old Brisbane woman say her release from prison on bail is “bittersweet”, claiming the woman’s human rights were violated by being unfairly detained for more than two years while awaiting trial for fraud-related offences.

Fatima I’Lache has been behind bars since February 2023 after being charged with three fraud offences and one passport-related charge in February 2023.

Malak Omari and Sam I’Lache outside court on Tuesday.Credit: Anna Rawlings

A Brisbane Supreme Court judge found on Tuesday there is a “very real risk” the mother of five will have spent too much time in custody.

“We are all really heartbroken, we didn’t know we would be two years in and she would be stuck in there,” her daughter, Malak Omari, said.

“It’s been really taxing … some nights we don’t sleep and we’re worrying that she’s going to be OK.”

I’Lache is accused of obtaining financial benefit by deception and social security fraud, with her bail application on Tuesday hearing her charges include an allegation that she did not properly declare a property she owned when claiming benefits.

The total of her alleged offending is $245,000, with the court hearing that she faces a maximum penalty of six years behind bars if convicted of all four offences.

I’Lache is also accused of obtaining a second passport without declaring that she already had a passport at the time.

She appeared distressed throughout her bail hearing in a Brisbane court on Tuesday, telling the court she has suffered increasing health issues while on remand.

“I have spent almost 29 months away from my family,” she said.

“I have been diagnosed with lupus, high blood pressure … there is a lot going on with my health.”

Her son, Sam I’Lache, said that his “devoted” mother has missed out on many family events.

“It’s been two years of limbo essentially … that’s two and a half years she will never get back.”

Omari said she has deferred her engineering studies to help her mother, who is self-represented.

The 31-year-old said she has spent nights in law libraries preparing for her mother’s court hearings, and she speaks to her almost daily from her cell in Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre.

“It’s literally become like a full-time job,” she said.

“It’s a lot of trial and error … there was no other choice. They haven’t afforded her any rights, it feels like a human rights violation.”

The family says that I’Lache has been told she is not eligible for Legal Aid, due to owning two properties, but she is unable to secure legal representation from behind bars without access to funds.

“Sometimes there’s a fight in the prison and they lock everything down and I can’t reach her … and we have to wait days,” Omari said.

“If she got bail, she could’ve got a loan … there wouldn’t have been so many blocks.”

I’Lache migrated to Australia from Lebanon in 1978 and has previously been denied bail after being deemed a flight risk.

She told the court today she has no documents that would allow her to travel.

“You can understand what’s happening in the Middle East … [it is] in war, people are leaving there. I haven’t been back to Lebanon for 35 years now.”

I’Lache said she has an offer of employment if granted bail. She would also care for two of her children who are experiencing health issues.

In handing down her decision today, Justice Rebecca Treston said there is “a series of cascading circumstances” and a “delay” caused by the charges being severed into two separate trials.

Treston said there is significant evidence that I’Lache has held multiple aliases and frequently travelled on Australian, New Zealand and Lebanese passports.

“It is perfectly understandable in the early proceedings her risk of flight might have been considered much more significant … Lebanon does not have a bilateral extradition treaty … but the fact of the matter is she has now spent two years and four months in jail,” she said.

“That is a significant amount of time for a woman in her sixties. It seems to me that she is at very real risk for having spent too much time in custody.”

Treston granted I’Lache bail with strict conditions, including regularly reporting to her local police station. She is also prevented from applying for any new passports and going within two kilometres of an airport terminal.

A trial is listed for the fraud charges later this month, with a separate trial for the passport offence set to take place later this year.

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