Shamima Begum: IS bride 'given legal aid' for citizenship fight [Update Post #174]

[Saj]

The first of four missing London schoolgirls who have travelled to Syria has been named as Sharmeena Begum.

The 15-year-old, from Bethnal Green, is thought to have left the UK in December to join Islamic State (IS) militants.

Sharmeena's father told the Daily Mail he had warned teachers at Bethnal Green Academy to keep an eye on three of her friends who have since disappeared.

Amira Abase, 15, Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, are now believed to have joined her in Syria.

All four teenagers are thought to be in Raqqa - the headquarters of IS.

'Not coming back'

Sharmeena Begum's father Mohammad Uddin told the Daily Mail he had warned the police to watch out for her three schoolmates after his own daughter went missing, as they were best friends.

Mr Uddin, a waiter at a central London restaurant, told the paper: "I said [to officers], 'Keep an eye on the three girls, maybe they'll give you a clue.'"

He also said he believed Sharmeena had been groomed by extremists who targeted her via social media on her phone.

His daughter's behaviour changed after her mother died in January 2014 and she developed an intense interest in Islam, Mr Uddin told the newspaper.

He said: "I thought this was normal because she lost the closest person to her, and she's an only child. Before then she wasn't very religious. She wouldn't go to the mosque and she would wear English dress.

"But then she changed her dressing style and wore a scarf and started praying five times a day."

Mr Uddin believes his daughter was groomed by two young women who took her to the airport and made sure she caught the flight to Turkey. She is thought to have been in the country for a few days before travelling on to Syria.

The Daily Mail reported that two weeks after she left home, Sharmeena called her father to say: "I'm in Islamic State and I'm not coming back."

'Spy' arrest

Shamima and Amira, who are both 15, and 16-year-old Kadiza Sultana - all GCSE pupils at Bethnal Green Academy in east London - left their homes on 17 February.

They flew to Istanbul from Gatwick with Turkish Airlines and are believed to have travelled to Syria within days.

New video footage emerged on Friday apparently showing Amira, Shamima and Kadiza preparing to enter the country.

The footage, broadcast by Turkish network A-Haber, seems to show a man helping the girls into a car near Turkey's border with Syria and appears to contain a reference to Syrian passports.

It is believed to have been shot by a man later arrested for allegedly helping the trio to cross the border.

Turkey's foreign minister has said the man is an intelligence worker.

He worked for the intelligence agency of an unspecified country that is part of the coalition against IS, according to Mevlut Cavusoglu.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31886146

 

[Vulcan]

Watched parent interview some days ago. How ISIS is able to convince these girls?

 

[Markhor]

The Daily Mail reported that two weeks after she left home, Sharmeena called her father to say: "I'm in Islamic State and I'm not coming back."

What a horrible thing to do to your own father.

Watched parent interview some days ago. How ISIS is able to convince these girls?

They'll brainwash kids into believing they'll go to heaven if they fight with ISIS, sense of adventure, religious motivations etc.

I'm all for civil liberties but there's a case to be made for greater surveillance of social media. These instances of brainwashing and radicalization over the internet must be stopped.

 

[dzor]

Why would they want to leave there lives in the UK where they have a future to move to a so called 'Islamic State' which is a war torn Iraq, where they will supressed with no freedom huh? I don't get it. And don't these girls know what these ISIS monsters do to the Kurdish/Yazidi girls to, Yazidi culture being destroyed, women are getting raped, monsters., there okay with joining an organisation which doesn't dispatch of slavery, horrific crimes, and hurting innocent human beings? Well done for ruining your stable lives, I hope in a month time it hits them hard about the decision they made to join such evil.

 

[Vulcan]

They'll brainwash kids into believing they'll go to heaven if they fight with ISIS, sense of adventure, religious motivations etc.

I'm all for civil liberties but there's a case to be made for greater surveillance of social media. These instances of brainwashing and radicalization over the internet must be stopped.

I think this is not the only factor, there has to be other reasons. No one just leave his/her house because someone on internet asked them to do so.

 

[Markhor]

I think this is not the only factor, there has to be other reasons. No one just leave his/her house because someone on internet asked them to do so.

Its difficult to gauge what exactly goes through their minds but young, impressionable and naive kids (which is pretty much what they are - their ages are startlingly young) are more susceptible to radicalization. Its no coincidence that some of the strongest political movements in history are often student-led. Young people are much more ideological.

That's not to excuse their actions however.

The article mentions two women groomed them and took them to the airport - they are just as responsible as the head chopping, hand cutting brigade. This episode begs the question what are the Turkish authorities doing ? Why isn't the border more secure to prevent infiltration of ISIS fighters ?

 

[Saeed]

Why isn't the border more secure to prevent infiltration of ISIS fighters ?

Corruption might be the answer. The border security is probably not paid enough, so they try to earn as much as they can from human smugglers. Even in Pakistan they let you cross the Afghan/Pak border for 25 rupees, don't know if the money is more now days.

 

[Thivagar]

Why would they want to leave there lives in the UK where they have a future to move to a so called 'Islamic State' which is a war torn Iraq, where they will supressed with no freedom huh? I don't get it. And don't these girls know what these ISIS monsters do to the Kurdish/Yazidi girls to, Yazidi culture being destroyed, women are getting raped, monsters., there okay with joining an organisation which doesn't dispatch of slavery, horrific crimes, and hurting innocent human beings? Well done for ruining your stable lives, I hope in a month time it hits them hard about the decision they made to join such evil.

They are 15yrs old, typical age where they think they know everything and fall for some of the dumbest things. Same reasons why 15 year old girls go mad over Justin Bieber and One Direction.

 

[dzor]

They are 15yrs old, typical age where they think they know everything and fall for some of the dumbest things. Same reasons why 15 year old girls go mad over Justin Bieber and One Direction.

True say, but I doubt many 15 years old would prepare to leave there families to marry some man who's probably double there age.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

True say, but I doubt many 15 years old would prepare to leave there families to marry some man who's probably double there age.

I don't understand the problem

Certain posters on this thread are all for liberty and complete free will
If these free women chose to go to a warzone, surely that is the choice 'free will feminism' has given them

 

[dzor]

I don't understand the problem

Certain posters on this thread are all for liberty and complete free will
If these free women chose to go to a warzone, surely that is the choice 'free will feminism' has given them

It's there choice but it's a stupid choice.

 

[shaykh]

Its difficult to gauge what exactly goes through their minds but young, impressionable and naive kids (which is pretty much what they are - their ages are startlingly young) are more susceptible to radicalization. Its no coincidence that some of the strongest political movements in history are often student-led. Young people are much more ideological.

That's not to excuse their actions however.

The article mentions two women groomed them and took them to the airport - they are just as responsible as the head chopping, hand cutting brigade. This episode begs the question what are the Turkish authorities doing ? Why isn't the border more secure to prevent infiltration of ISIS fighters ?

Please with the impressionable thing...if they were male these arguments wouldnt be getting made...its just outright sexism on display by making these girls into victims...

Good riddance to them...

 

[UP]

I feel for their parents and families. It would be an understatement to state that this time wouldn't be less than a hell.

 

[Firebreaker]

Does this family has Pakistani background?

 

[Firebreaker]

Watched parent interview some days ago. How ISIS is able to convince these girls?

Isis have some attractive jihadis who lures girls to Islamic State

 

[Markhor]

Please with the impressionable thing...if they were male these arguments wouldnt be getting made...its just outright sexism on display by making these girls into victims...

Good riddance to them...

15 and 16 year olds are not impressionable ?

Its not a male or female point and nobody is painting them as victims, they've made a terrible decision but surely we can't deny that these young foreign jihadists have been sold this idealistic view of a Crusade-like religious adventure through social media have been radicalised.

 

[Markhor]

Young people seek narrative and meaning to their lives. These girls have bought into a perverse and warped, hate-filled agenda but its a powerful one, a narrative of us vs them.

Some are saying to hell with them, good riddance and its their choice - and to an extent I agree.

But I don't want ANY Muslim to become radicalised and simply hoping they're all gonna kill each other off in the process is wishful thinking. It only takes one of them to come back to the UK undetected, blow themselves up and kill 50 people - then the Islamophobia will ratchet up again, Douglas Murray and his ilk comes out and calls for conditions to be 'made harder for Muslims' (genuine quote) and then we sit here saying "why didn't we stop them ?"

 

[shaykh]

15 and 16 year olds are not impressionable ?

Its not a male or female point and nobody is painting them as victims, they've made a terrible decision but surely we can't deny that these young foreign jihadists have been sold this idealistic view of a Crusade-like religious adventure through social media have been radicalised.

Of course they have been made into victims...the media has portrayed them as being manipulated...men are viewed as following ideology while when its a girl it is because they want a Jihadi husband or they have been misled...

Even the pictures of the girls are sympathetic with smiles etc...young males haven't been presented in the same way whatsoever...the males are monsters whilst the girls are manipulated...

Even if girl appears in a pic holding a severed head we might get the 'indoctrinated' rhetoric reserved for women...the portrayal of females in IS has been extremely sexist imo...

The Deghayes brothers who were actually fighting Assad and werent representing IS have been discussed in a matter of fact manner despite their young age...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...adist-Jaffar-Deghayes-17-killed-in-Syria.html

 

[shaykh]

Young people seek narrative and meaning to their lives. These girls have bought into a perverse and warped, hate-filled agenda but its a powerful one, a narrative of us vs them.

Some are saying to hell with them, good riddance and its their choice - and to an extent I agree.

But I don't want ANY Muslim to become radicalised and simply hoping they're all gonna kill each other off in the process is wishful thinking. It only takes one of them to come back to the UK undetected, blow themselves up and kill 50 people - then the Islamophobia will ratchet up again, Douglas Murray and his ilk comes out and calls for conditions to be 'made harder for Muslims' (genuine quote) and then we sit here saying "why didn't we stop them ?"

One 16 year old has been banned from going abroad because two of his brothers have gone abroad to fight for IS...

I kinda have mixed feelings on this...I think its commendable that the attitude isnt simply 'if they wanna leave and kill people abroad it isn't our problem'...but at the same time if this kid is like his brothers then is forcing him to stay here a good idea?...

 

[Salman]

Simply, the parents must take the majority of the blame here. The family lives of these girls must have sucked in some ways for them to dump everything and start new lives.

Though there is still nothing conclusive in the media, for all we know they could have run away to become bar maids in Ibiza.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

It's there choice but it's a stupid choice.

I feel the Same about young women who lose their virginity to some fool before marriage

They are peer pressured into in majority of cases
But it is their choice remember

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Some people are really insensitive here.

She just lost her mother at that time.

Can you not see how an Islamic way of thought (it's not like ISIS told her she will become suicide bomber) , that was initially preached to her, probably focused on using religion to cope, and she found benefit from it.

As she opened more to religion, she probably got interested more than her Western lifestyle especially after a devastating loss.

From there on, one can only imagine how through powerful manipulation and psychological techniques such people are hoodwinked into working for their religion.

They pick those who are vulnerable (family death, no hope of future life, poverty etc) and feed on that vulnerability to get their desired results.

How can we call her stupid?

It's beyond me.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Amira Abase's father has spent a long time time blaming the police and the authorities for not doing enough in stopping his daughter going to Syria. Well perhaps he should take a look in the mirror when looking for the the root cause of his daughter's radicalisation.

Father of 'jihadi bride' schoolgirl marched at the head of a 2012 extremist rally attended by Lee Rigby's killer and hate preacher Anjem Choudary - and pictured with burning U.S. flag

Sensational footage has emerged showing the father of one of the three schoolgirl 'jihadi brides' at the head of an Islamist rally led by hate preacher Anjem Choudary and attended by Michael Adebolajo, the killer of soldier Lee Rigby.

The video shows Abase Hussen marching at the front of the demonstrators, behind a banner reading: 'The followers of Mohammed will conquer America.'

He was filmed chanting 'Allahu Akbar' amid dozens of protesters and standing just yards away as the American flag is burned. Yesterday, a Government report on foreign fighters was released containing testimony from Mr Hussen.

Hannah Stuart, domestic extremism expert at the Henry Jackson Society, said:

'We saw Mr Hussen on TV looking very innocent, holding a teddy bear. But he was linked with individuals who espouse an extremist ideology.

'The impression given was that Islamic extremism was an alien world to his daughter - this footage suggests it wasn't.'

Mr Hussen's daughter, Amira Abase, 15, fled the UK with two of her closest friends to join Islamic State last month sparking a national outcry.

Mr Hussen, who is originally from Ethiopia, led public appeals for her return as their families blamed the authorities for failing to stop them.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...gby-s-killer-led-preacher-Anjem-Choudary.html

 

[yeh cheez]

^ The fruit doesn't fall far from the jihadi tree.

The West would be better served in demolishing the mini-caliphates within their own countries than worry about the jihadis joining the big-caliphate in the middle-east.

 

[TSA321]

Does this family has Pakistani background?

Bangladeshi

 

[Buffet]

Amira Abase's father has spent a long time time blaming the police and the authorities for not doing enough in stopping his daughter going to Syria. Well perhaps he should take a look in the mirror when looking for the the root cause of his daughter's radicalisation.





http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...gby-s-killer-led-preacher-Anjem-Choudary.html

So some folks provide their kids a fantastic environment to get radicalized and then complain when those kids join IS.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

This girl would have been better served flying off to some remote village in Pakistan than Syria

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Four teenage girls barred from travelling abroad are pupils at the same east London school attended by three girls already thought to have fled to Syria.

All seven teenagers attend Bethnal Green Academy in Tower Hamlets.

The four girls, along with a fifth girl who is home-schooled, have been made wards of court and had their passports removed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32091822

 

[Gabbar Singh]

The honeymoon did not last very long for these girls.

Isis: British teenage 'Jihadi brides' said to be on run from husbands in Iraq

Three London schoolgirls who ran away to the Middle East to become "Jihadi brides" are on the run from their husbands in the Iraqi city of Mosul, it is being reported.

Shamima Begum, Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana ran away from home in February and were seen on CCTV at a UK airport and in Turkey before slipping over the border into Syria.

Since arriving in Isis-controlled territory, Amira posted a Tweet including a photograph of takeaway food and the caption 'dawla takeaway w/ @um_ayoub12'. The message seemed to imply the girls were enjoying life in the Middle East.

However, it has now been claimed by an anonymous blogger called "Mosul Eye" that three British girls, possibly the three London girls, are trying to escape their husbands - and possibly Isis (also known as Isil or Islamic State).

n a Facebook posting on 2 May, the blogger wrote: "Three girls, [foreigners, British] married to ISIL militants, reported missing, and ISIL announced to all its check points to search for them. It is believed that those girls have escaped."

He later added: "The *latest info I got on them is they are still on the run, but still in Mosul, and ISIL is thoroughly searching for them and hasn't captured them yet. They are Brits, not immigrants, and they are very young teens (around 16 years old). That's all I have about them for now."

The news will add to the torment of the families of the three girls back in London, who claim they had no idea their children were planning to fly to the Middle East. It later emerged that the father of Amira Abase had attended Islamist rallies in London.

Today's news comes as Isis sympathisers have made a number of threats on social media warning that London is to come under attack. Using the hashtag #LondonAttack posters have uploaded photographs of machine guns and what appears to be a suicide belt along with cryptic warnings. However, the police say they do not currently believe the threats are credible.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/isis-british-teenage-jihadi-brides-said-be-run-husbands-iraq-1500997

 

[CricketCartoons]

It later emerged that the father of Amira Abase had attended Islamist rallies in London

he should be very proud of his daughter then.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

The family of 2 sisters and their kids who traveled to the Islamic State are blaming the police for it. Perhaps they should look a bit closer to home.

Police 'complicit in radicalisation' of missing sisters, claim family lawyers

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...lisation-missing-sisters-claim-family-lawyers

 

[chacha kashmiri]

The family of 2 sisters and their kids who traveled to the Islamic State are blaming the police for it. Perhaps they should look a bit closer to home.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...lisation-missing-sisters-claim-family-lawyers

Do you mean dewsbury? Or Hornsea

Domestic holidays are more expensive than flying out

Someone was telling me two weeks all inclusive including flights and breakfast and lodging for £600 in sharm el Shaikh
What a steal

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Home schooling Tower Hamlets style..

Groomed as a jihadi bride by her OWN parents: Judge puts girl, 16, in care to save her from a family home filled with ISIS propaganda

Police found a 'How to Survive in the West - A Mujahid's Guide' in her home
A High Court judge described the 16-year-old's parents as 'deceitful'
Judge Hayden compared the girl's radicalisation as similar to child abuse
After being arrested, the girl, known only as B, said she wanted to join ISIS


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...removed-family-judge-rules.html#ixzz3jZNtCxOk
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[DrSchultz]

Haha these British Bangladeshis and Pakistanis are in a league of their own, first world facilities, education, government, but minds still have a dehati soch.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Kadiza Sultana, one of three schoolgirls from east London who ran away to join Isis, is thought to have been killed in an air strike in Syria.

Ms Sultana, 17, left Britain to travel to Syria in February 2015 with fellow teenagers Shamima Begum and Amira Abase.

But Ms Sultana’s family, who had been in contact with her by phone, believes she was killed in a Russian bomb strike on Raqqa in May, according to ITV News.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...reen-london-schoolgirl-ran-away-a7185801.html

 

[Buffet]

It's mainly parents who should take the blame.

 

[Pure Evil]

good riddance. Bethnal Green is a dump, I go there for tennis matches at times. Not surprised at all.

 

[GreenKnightRises]

telegraph, dailymail, the guardian,bbc.. All have the same trash purpose .

If some people from specific groups goes missing, they've Joined IS

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Sharmeena Begum wants to come home.

Asked by Times journalist Anthony Loyd whether her experiences of living in the one-time IS stronghold of Raqqa had lived up to her aspirations, Ms Begum said: "Yes, it did. It was like a normal life. The life that they show on the propaganda videos - it's a normal life.

"Every now and then there are bombs and stuff. But other than that..."

"I'm not the same silly little 15-year-old schoolgirl who ran away from Bethnal Green four years ago," she told Mr Loyd.

"I don't regret coming here."

"I'm scared that this baby is going to get sick in this camp," she said. "That's why I really want to get back to Britain because I know it will be taken care of - health-wise, at least."

She said she should be giving birth "any day now".

"I'll do anything required just to be able to come home and live quietly with my child."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47229181

 

[shaaik]

British IS schoolgirl 'wants to return home'

One of three schoolgirls who left east London in 2015 to join the Islamic State group says she has no regrets, but wants to return to the UK.

In an interview with the Times, Shamima Begum, now 19, talked about seeing "beheaded heads" in bins - but said that it "did not faze her".

Speaking from a refugee camp in Syria, she said she was nine months pregnant and wanted to come home for her baby.

She said she'd had two other children who had both died.

She also described how one of her two school friends that had left the UK with her had died in a bombing. The fate of the third girl is unclear.

'It was like a normal life'
Bethnal Green Academy pupils Ms Begum and Amira Abase were both 15, while Kadiza Sultana was 16, when they left the UK in February 2015.

They flew from Gatwick Airport to Turkey after telling their parents they were going out for the day. They later crossed the border into Syria.

After arriving in Raqqa, she stayed at a house with other newly arrived brides-to-be, she told the Times.

"I applied to marry an English-speaking fighter between 20 and 25 years old," she said.

Ten days later she married a 27-year-old Dutch man who had converted to Islam.

She has been with him since then, and the couple escaped from Baghuz - the group's last territory in eastern Syria - two weeks ago.

Her husband surrendered to a group of Syrian fighters as they left, and she is now one of 39,000 people in a refugee camp in northern Syria.

Asked by Times journalist Anthony Loyd whether her experiences of living in the one-time IS stronghold of Raqqa had lived up to her aspirations, Ms Begum said: "Yes, it did. It was like a normal life. The life that they show on the propaganda videos - it's a normal life.

"Every now and then there are bombs and stuff. But other than that..."

She said that seeing her first "severed head" in a bin "didn't faze me at all".

"It was from a captured fighter seized on the battlefield, an enemy of Islam.

"I thought only of what he would have done to a Muslim woman if he had the chance," she said.

"I'm not the same silly little 15-year-old schoolgirl who ran away from Bethnal Green four years ago," she told Mr Loyd.

"I don't regret coming here."

'I always thought we'd die together'
But Ms Begum said the "oppression" had come as a "shock" and said she felt the IS "caliphate" was at an end.

"I don't have high hopes. They are just getting smaller and smaller," she said. "And there is so much oppression and corruption going on that I don't really think they deserve victory."

She referred to her husband having been held in a prison where men were tortured.

Kadiza Sultana, Amira Abase and Shamima Begum (l-r) in photos issued by police
A lawyer for the family of Kadiza Sultana said in 2016 that she was believed to have been killed in a Russian air strike.

Ms Begum told the Times her friend had died in a bombing on a house where there was "some secret stuff going on" underground.

She added: "I never thought it would happen. At first I was in denial. Because I always thought if we got killed, we'd get killed together."

'Scared this baby is going to get sick'
Ms Begum said losing two children "came as a shock. It just came out of nowhere, it was so hard".

Her first child, a girl, died at the age of one year and nine months, and was buried in Baghuz a month ago.

Her second child - the first to die - died three months ago at the age of eight months, of an illness that was compounded by malnutrition, the Times reports.

She told the paper she took him to a hospital. "There were no drugs available, and not enough medical staff," she said.

As a result she said she was "really overprotective" of her unborn child.

She said this concern also contributed to her decision to leave Baghuz.

"I was weak," she said. "I could not endure the suffering and hardship that staying on the battlefield involved.

"But I was also frightened that the child I am about to give birth to would die like my other children if I stayed on."

She said she remained scared her unborn baby would become ill in the refugee camp.

"That's why I really want to get back to Britain because I know it will be taken care of - health-wise, at least," she said.

She said she should be giving birth "any day now".

"I'll do anything required just to be able to come home and live quietly with my child."

Sir Peter Fahy, a retired senior police chief who led the Prevent terrorism prevention programme at the time the girls ran away, said if Ms Begum did return to the UK, the authorities would first detain her and investigate whether there was enough evidence to mount a prosecution.

He said he could understand why the government was "not particularly interested" in facilitating her return.

"If the woman was showing complete remorse, it would be completely different," he told BBC Radio Four's Today programme.

He said it would cost a "vast amount of money" and the biggest challenge would be for local police to keep her safe.

They would have to ensure she did not become a lightning rod for both right-wing extremists and Islamic extremists and did not try justify her position and actions, he added.

IS has lost control of most of the territory it overran, including its strongholds of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria.

However, fighting continues in north-eastern Syria, where the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) say they captured dozens of foreign fighters in recent weeks.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47229181

 

[Bewal Express]

No, she can stay with her murderous thugs.

 

[TM Riddle]

No, she can stay with her murderous thugs.

What about the baby though?
Surely he/she doesn't deserve that.

 

[Bewal Express]

What about the baby though?
Surely he/she doesn't deserve that.

Where is the father?

 

[TM Riddle]

Where is the father?

How's that baby's fault?

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

What about the baby though?
Surely he/she doesn't deserve that.

She already lost two babies through malnutrition and lack of medical supplies. Don't want to sound callous but one more isn't going to make much difference.

 

[TM Riddle]

She already lost two babies through malnutrition and lack of medical supplies. Don't want to sound callous but one more isn't going to make much difference.

I get the gist but it would have been nicer to save the kid at least.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

I get the gist but it would have been nicer to save the kid at least.

There must be hundreds of kids dying there if the hospitals don't have supplies, I don't think anyone will want to give her babies special treatment.

 

[Bewal Express]

How's that baby's fault?

You could say the same for any child in the world that is in poverty. This women chose to be part of an evil organisation whose raison detre was to malign Islam and Muslims at the behest of its enemies like Israel( who were treating the Isis fighters in Israeli hospitals). I have no sympathy with her.

 

[MenInG]

A British woman who fled to Syria as a schoolgirl to join the Islamic State group could be prevented from returning to the UK, the home secretary has said.

"My message is clear," Sajid Javid told the Times. "If you have supported terrorist organisations abroad I will not hesitate to prevent your return."

He added that if Shamima Begum, 19, did come home she could be prosecuted.

Ms Begum, who is pregnant, told the paper she had no regrets but wanted to have her baby in the UK.

"We must remember that those who left Britain to join Daesh were full of hate for our country," Mr Javid said.

"If you do manage to return you should be ready to be questioned, investigated and potentially prosecuted."

Mr Javid added that there were a range of measure available to "stop people who pose a serious threat from returning to the UK, including depriving them of their British citizenship or excluding them from the country."

BBC home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani said security chiefs in London could also control Ms Begum's possible return through a Temporary Exclusion Order.

The controversial legal tool bars a British citizen from returning home until they have agreed to investigation, monitoring and, if required, deradicalisation.

However Lord Carlile, a former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said Ms Begum would have to be accepted back into the UK if she had not become a national of any other country.

Under international law, it is not possible to render a person stateless.

Will Shamima Begum be allowed to return to the UK?
Shamima Begum was legally a child when she pinned her colours to the Islamic State mast.

And if she were still under 18 years old, the government would have a duty to take her and her unborn child's "best interests" into account in deciding what to do next.

But she's now an apparently unrepentant adult - and that means she would have to account for her decisions, even if her journey is a story of grooming and abuse.

Another British jihadi bride, Tareena Shakil, who got out of the war zone with her child, lied to the security services on her return and was jailed for membership of a terrorist group.

If Ms Begum got out of the country, that is the kind of charge she could face - along with encouraging or supporting terrorism.

But that's a long way off. Assuming she made it to an airport, the UK could temporarily ban her from returning until she agreed to be investigated, monitored and deradicalised.

Social services would also certainly step in to consider whether her child should be removed to protect him or her from radicalisation.

In an interview with the Times, Ms Begum, who married an IS fighter, showed little remorse for her involvement with the terror group, saying she was not fazed by seeing "beheaded heads" in bins and did not regret travelling to Syria.

However, she said that after losing two children to illness while living in Syria, she was scared her unborn baby would also die if she stayed in the camp.

Media captionAnthony Loyd of the Times describes how he found Shamima Begum in a Syrian refugee camp
Ms Begum's family have appealed for the teenager to be shown mercy.

Her brother-in-law Mohammed Rahman, 36, told the Times: "She was so young - I don't think she had the life experience to make those decisions."

"I think the hope would be that she would be allowed to return home, as long as the government is satisfied she has turned her back on their ideology," he said.

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls, along with Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15, from Bethnal Green Academy in east London who left the UK for Syria in February 2015.

She escaped from Baghuz - IS's last territory in eastern Syria - two weeks ago.

Her husband surrendered to a group of Syrian fighters as they left, and she is now one of 39,000 people in a camp in northern Syria.

IS has lost control of most of the territory it overran, including its strongholds of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria.

However, fighting continues in north-eastern Syria, where the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) say they captured dozens of foreign fighters in recent weeks.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47248555

 

[Robert]

Bring them back.

Charge them with abetting terrorism, jail them, then deprogramme and reintegrate them.

 

[MenInG]

Family of teenager Shamima Begum - who fled to join IS - call for UK government to bring her back "urgently"

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-4726091...r&ns_campaign=bbc_breaking&ns_mchannel=social

 

[Abdullah719]

Shamima Begum: How do countries deal with people returning from IS?

Shamima Begum, the London schoolgirl who travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State group (IS) in 2015 could be prevented from returning to the UK, the Home Secretary has said.

"My message is clear," Sajid Javid told the Times: "If you have supported terrorist organisations abroad I will not hesitate to prevent your return."

Shamima Begum is one of thousands of people who've travelled to Iraq and Syria to join IS. So, how do other European governments deal with those who want to return?

How many people?
Up to 41,490 international citizens from 80 countries are thought to have joined IS in Iraq and Syria between April 2013 and June 2018, according to a report by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR), at King's College London, published last year.

The majority of the study's data comes from official government sources - although some figures are drawn from academic publications and credible media reports.

Three quarters of those joining the IS group were men, 13% were women, and children - described by researchers as "affiliated" to the group - made up 12%.

A further 730 children are thought to have been born in Iraq or Syria to foreign mothers affiliated to IS.

The majority of citizens travelling to Iraq or Syria to join the group were from the Middle East and North Africa (18,852). There were also 5,904 nationals from Western Europe, according to the report.

France accounted for the highest number (1,910), double the number from the next highest, Germany (960). The UK was third with 850 people.

How many have returned?
Most of the returnees came back in two waves - before the declaration of a "caliphate" by IS in the year before June 2014, and another wave in early 2015. Many are expected to have died in Iraq and Syria and others arrested or relocated to other countries.

Western European countries have seen a total of 1,765 nationals return, according to the study.

In an analysis of six EU countries, carried out by the European Parliament (EP), half of those who left the UK have returned, the highest rate among six countries examined.

About a third of German and Belgian nationals returned. France had a return rate of just 12%, according to the EP report.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-47252164

 

[LongHorn]

Naïve girl who joined isis is condemned unanimously by everyone, with no one wanting her return...


Soliders who happily killed innocents (as we are now hearing of how they used to kill for fun in Iraq) are condemned by few and cheered by others as men "defending" western values.

Even the soldier who raped/killed that Iraqi 14 year old and her family, and got prosecuted would be defended by some Americans as a hero

Contrast that with the outrage towards this woman who at least has not killed someone....

 

[mustang]

^ The fruit doesn't fall far from the jihadi tree.

The West would be better served in demolishing the mini-caliphates within their own countries than worry about the jihadis joining the big-caliphate in the middle-east.

THIS! Man, I would be horrified if such terrorist ghettos exist in America. Why is the UK government tolerant of so many radical Islamic groups? Sad part is that it taints the good muslims too. Every time I read about the British muslim community I feel thankful that the American muslim community is so much better and has not become a radical cesspool like they have.

 

[MenInG]

IF there is proof, put her in jail, if not she should be treated as same as any from EDL etc - ie allowed to say what she wants.

If that is not to everyone's liking, then do your tamasha parliament debates and come up with a proper law to deal with this.

 

[rhony]

Her parents should take the responsibility of the baby. The baby should be given a UK citizenship. The girl should not be allowed into UK. Let her live in those camps as she doesnt regret living amongst psychopaths. She seems to be one too.

 

[MenInG]

Her parents should take the responsibility of the baby. The baby should be given a UK citizenship. The girl should not be allowed into UK. Let her live in those camps as she doesnt regret living amongst psychopaths. She seems to be one too.

She is a British Citizen. She is NOT stateless.

 

[rhony]

She is a British Citizen. She is NOT stateless.

Yes G I get your point. I'm also aware that Citizenship can be revoked but according to international law, no one can be stateless.

I'm thinking about that innoncent child who has nothing to do with this. There is more damage to that baby if he/she stays with this clearly deranged woman. There is stigma that will be associated with that child if associated with the mother. Imprisoning this woman in UK is the only other choice and it's an absolute waste of tax payer money when one doesn't repent. My choice is to let her rot in those camps for as long as possible with the baby back in UK with her parents.

 

[Robert]

THIS! Man, I would be horrified if such terrorist ghettos exist in America. Why is the UK government tolerant of so many radical Islamic groups? Sad part is that it taints the good muslims too. Every time I read about the British muslim community I feel thankful that the American muslim community is so much better and has not become a radical cesspool like they have.

Sadly, some destructive people take advantage and hide behind the liberal tenets of our society. There is such a value as freedom of speech after all. Yet groups that support or foment terror are banned and hate preachers jailed.

 

[bones]

A few things.

How on earth do you let a group of teenage girls travel alone and let them through your border control? Some serious questions need to be asked if they haven't already.

She's quite intelligent, well at least from her comments it seems like she is above average so she cannot be given any leniancy. Yes she was 15 when she went, but a 15 yr old is pretty mature, I know I was pretty smart at that age, so should be held accountable.

The family should just shut up and let the authorities decide on what to do.

 

[TSA321]

 

[Rana]

"IS bride Shamima Begum has told Sky News "a lot of people should have sympathy" for her as she spoke of her wish to return to the UK.

The 19-year-old, who has just given birth to a baby boy in a Syrian refugee camp, also said the UK authorities had no evidence against her "doing anything dangerous", in response to concerns she could pose a security threat.

She claimed she had just been "a housewife" during her four year's in the terrorists' caliphate.

While she was aware of the beheadings and executions being carried out by the extremists but she was "OK with it", because she had heard "Islamically that is allowed".

The teen mother also could not see "any reason" why her new-born son would be taken away from her if she returned to Britain.

Shamima Begum said: "I think a lot of people should have sympathy towards me for everything I have been through.

"I didn't know what I was getting into when I left.

"I was hoping that maybe for the sake of me and my child they'd let me come back.

"Because I can't live in this camp forever."

She added: "They don't have any evidenced against me doing anything dangerous.

"When I went to Syria I was just a housewife fr the entire four years. Stayed at home took care of my kids.

"I never did anything dangerous. I never made propaganda. I never encouraged people to come to Syria."

Prior to the birth, the teenager said she wished to bring up her baby in the UK, and her family, who believe she was groomed, have pleaded for her to be shown mercy and to be allowed to return "as a matter of urgency".

She left Britain as a 15-year-old schoolgirl to join IS in the country four years ago.

Earlier, a statement released through the family lawyer said: "We, the family of Shamima Begum, have been informed that Shamima has given birth to her child, we understand that both she and the baby are in good health.

"As yet we have not had direct contact with Shamima, we are hoping to establish communications with her soon so that we can verify the above."

Shamima Begum married a young Dutch IS fighter called Yago Riedijk three weeks after she arrived in the country in 2015.

She has previously said she had two other children during her time with IS, but both died young due to illness.

Questions have been raised over whether Britain would be able to prevent her eventual return to the UK.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has warned he "will not hesitate" to prevent the return of Britons who travelled to join IS, but Justice Secretary David Gauke told Sky News: "We can't make people stateless."

Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Javid said many supporters of IS have returned to their home countries, adding: "The difficult challenge we now face is what we should do about those who are still seeking to return.

"As home secretary, my priority is to ensure the safety and security of this country - and I will not let anything jeopardise that."

Shamima Begum was one of three schoolgirls, along with Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase, from Bethnal Green Academy in east London who travelled together to Syria.

Kadiza Sultana was reported to have been killed in an airstrike in 2016.

More follows..."

https://news.sky.com/story/is-bride...=referral&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

I hate ppl like her. They bring disrepute to the whole community and then feel entitled to get sympathy from the society. It’s one thing to commit a minor crime at a young age and it’s another thing to join ISIS of all organisations.

 

[MenInG]

I hate ppl like her. They bring disrepute to the whole community and then feel entitled to get sympathy from the society. It’s one thing to commit a minor crime at a young age and it’s another thing to join ISIS of all organisations.

This low-life Sky guy interviewed her one hour after giving birth - no ethics with these guys - saw this int and the girl was in pain and sticking the microphone her face etc - absolutely disgusting.

 

[JaDed]

Personally feel sad for her situation coz she is a mother and was young and naive when she made that decision(easy to get radicalized) but at the same time there needs to be some sort of punishment as community service for atleast 8 years and she needs to go for therapy as well coz after all that she is expecting sympathy?

 

[90MPH]

I don’t feel any sympathy for her.

The reason being she said she doesn’t regret her actions and has not shown any remorse.

So I’m with the majority of the British public and media. They need to firmly close the door on her returning. It will also send a message to others that there are peaceful ways to air your grievances especially growing up in a country like England.

 

[gazza619]

ISIS bride Shamima Begum appeared on TV screens across the world today, just hours after giving birth to a baby boy.

The teenager was interviewed in a refugee camp in Syria by Sky News correspondent John Sparks.


With her newborn baby at her side, the 19-year-old spoke of her hopes to come back to the UK - and why people should have "sympathy" for her.

Ms Begum left the UK in 2015 with her London schoolmates Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase.

Since leaving Britain, she claims she's had two children who have died, and is appealing to be brought home with her son.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has said he will do everything in his power to block Ms Begum's return.

Here is the full transcript of the interview:

Tell me a bit about the child.


It's a boy. I named him after my old son [who died] - that's what my husband wanted.

What are conditions like in the camp?

Right now, it's okay. I get fed and I have a heater, but it's kind of difficult going around doing stuff yourself - especially now I have a child.

Will you be able to care for him here?

It's going to be a bit difficult because right now I don't have money.

For people without money, it's hard to get around with the amount of things they give us.


Is life in the camp better than it was in Baghuz over the last few months?

Definitely. I mean, I'm not starving, I have a roof over my head, whereas before I was sleeping outside.


There was no medical care so everyone was getting sick. My kids died because of sickness. So yeah.

You have obviously been through a lot over the last few years. Can you describe what it has been like to live with and under the Islamic State?

At first it was nice, it was like how they showed it in the videos, like 'come, make a family together'.

Then afterwards, things got harder, you know. When we lost Raqqa we had to keep moving and moving and moving. The situation got difficult.

Was there a point when you started to have second thoughts about your life under Islamic State?

Only at the end, after my son died. I realised I had to get out for the sake of my children - for the sake of my daughter and my baby. Yeah.

Only at the end?

Yeah.

You didn't have any regrets up until that point?

No.


What was it about Islamic State that attracted you? What did you like about it?

The way they showed that you can go [to Syria] and they'll take care of you.

You can have your own family, do anything. You're living under Islamic law.

Did you know what Islamic State were doing when you left for Syria? Because they had beheaded people. There were executions.

Yeah, I knew about those things and I was okay with it. Because, you know, I started becoming religious just before I left.

From what I heard, Islamically that is all allowed. So I was okay with it.

You didn't question that?

No, not at all.

There's a struggle going on in the UK now about whether you should be allowed to come home or not.

Yeah, I know.

What are your feelings about that?

I think a lot of people should have, like, sympathy towards me for everything I've been through.

I didn't know what I was getting into when I left and I just was hoping that for the sake of me and my child, they could let me come back.

Because I can't live in this camp forever. It's not really possible.

The head of the intelligence services in the UK says people like you are potentially very dangerous. What would you say to him?

They don't have any evidence against me doing anything dangerous.

When I went to Syria, I was just a housewife for the entire four years - stayed at home, took care of my husband, took care of my kids.

I never did anything dangerous. I never made propaganda. I never encouraged people to come to Syria.

They don't really have proof that I did anything that is dangerous.

Your family have made an appeal for you to come home. They are pleading with the British government for you to come home. Do you have a message for your family?

You know, just keep trying to get me back. I really don't want to stay here.

I don't want to take care of my child in this camp, because I'm afraid he might even die in this camp.

What do you think life would be like back in the UK?

I don't know. Because I know they would be a lot of restrictions on me, I wouldn't be free to do things that I used to be able to do.

I don't know if they'll take my child away and all these things. That's one of my biggest priorities.

I left because of him, so I don't want him to be taken away from me and I'm just trying to give him a better life.

If the authorities took the child away from you, would you accept that?

It would be hard to accept. I would try my best to keep him with me.

I don't see any reason why they would take him away from me.

There are concerns because of what you have been through, views that people think you may have or still have in regard to Islamic State.

That's something they have to question me about before they take my child away, I guess.

One question that people are asking is whether you can be rehabilitated.

It would be really hard because of everything I've been through now.

I'm still kind of in the mentality of having planes over my head and an emergency backpack and starving, all these things.

I think it would be a big shock to go back to the UK and start life again.

May I ask, what was it that attracted you? Was it from watching videos, was there somebody who recruited you? What was it that prompted a 15-year-old girl to go to Syria?

During the time I left, al-Dawla (Islamic State) was on the news and stuff, and like a lot of videos were coming out and I saw all the videos on the internet and that just kind of attracted me to them.

Like it attracted a lot of people.

Do you know whether your friend Amira Abase [who she travelled to Syria with in 2015] is still alive?

I don't know. I haven't heard from her in a long time.

How did you feel when your other friend, Kadiza Sultana, died?

It was a big shock because it was at the beginning of when we left. It was maybe a year after we left. It wasn't something I suspected.

Like, now if I heard that Amira was dead, I wouldn't be surprised.

I would be hurt obviously, but I wouldn't be surprised because of the situation she's still in.

When Kadiza died the situation was still good in Raqqa, it just came out of nowhere.

Do you feel that you have made a mistake? When you look back at what you've been through over the last four years, do you feel like you've made a mistake?

A mistake in going to al-Dawla?

Yes, a mistake in coming here, living under Islamic State.

In a way, yes, but I don't regret it because it's changed me as a person.

It's made me stronger, tougher. I married my husband. I wouldn't have found someone like him back in the UK.

I had my kids. I did have a good time there, it's just that at the end things got harder and I couldn't take it anymore.

I had to leave.

Have you had any contact with your husband, does he know that you have had a child?

No, I don't know how to get in contact. I don't know if they'd let me get in contact with him and I don't know where he is right now.

I would like to get in contact with him.

Have consular officials from the British government been in touch with you?

No, just another journalist, that's it.

Are you able to see the news coverage centring on you?

No, I don't have my phone, I can't go on the internet, I don't know what's going on around me right now.

Just getting in contact with my family was difficult. I just got lucky, I guess.


You have had some contact with them have you?

Yeah the last journalist that came he contacted my family for me.

Do you have a message for them?

Just please don't give up on me. Try to get me back I really don't want to stay here.

It must have been a terrible shock for your family when you left.

They were [shocked]. Because at first obviously they did try and ask me to come back, but I kept saying no.

Then they gave up, and now I'm kind of, after four years I'm asking them for help now.

It's kind of, a big slap in the face to them.

But I really need the help.

What would you say to them?

I'm sorry for leaving.

Do you feel that there is the possibility of a good future for you and your son?

Yes, if the UK are willing to take me back and help me start a new life again.


I'm just trying to move on from everything that's happened over the last four years.

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/full-transcript-isis-bride-shamima-15844820

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

I think that a lot of people that feel sympathy for this lady are confused by associating her with Islam and muslims.

I think it should be clear - she is not representative of Islam or Muslims.

ISIS is a killer of muslims and Islam, brutally so, and far from representative of Islam.

This dangerous group of fanatics needs to be wiped out. They are in no way an example of Muslims or an example of the kind of life most muslims want to lead.

So once again, don't feel any sympathy for this unrepentant entitled idiot because she claims to be a muslim.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

Feel sympathy if you want because she was young, vulnerable, brainwashed, etc., but don't do it because she claims to be a muslim.

If she was a real muslim, she would know that butchering innocent people and civilians and aid workers and minorities is against the law.

And so far, she sounds unrepentant or remorseful.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

Also, don't feel sympathy with her because she is part of some kind of perceived war on Islam.

Even if there was one, this is not helping the cause. She's part of the enemy that we need to crush.

 

[Abdullah719]

Poll added.

 

[Markhor]

This woman is 19 years old and has already had three kids - two of which she's complicit in their premature deaths by moving to the hellhole that is ISIS territory.

Now she expects to return with her third child and wants free NHS healthcare.

This despite showing NO remorse for joining the murderous death cult in the first place.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

No sympathy. A degenerate who should be imprisoned. A disgrace on the Muslim community.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Pretty clear from her interview that she only wants to return because she's in a prison camp now and probably fears her third child will die as well. While was still in the Syria that ISIS controlled when she went there, she wouldn't even consider returning despite many pleas from her family. Truth be told she still sounds like an ISIS fangirl.

 

[GBK_Fan]

The kid should really be handed over to CPS, definitely not to her or to her family. Don’t see why a newborn should suffer for the dastardly acts of his parents

 

[light]

I think this is not the only factor, there has to be other reasons. No one just leave his/her house because someone on internet asked them to do so.

It has alot to do with your surroundings aswell. I can't talk about others, but at the age of 15-16, I was not stupid like this girl. Would not just take a candy from a stranger and hop onto a plane to travel to another land. Then again, I was never religious, so there is that. BUt I always wondered, how does one get convinced this much over social media. Their recruiting tactic is actually powerful if you ask me. This type of brain washing is out of the world.

 

[Robert]

This woman is 19 years old and has already had three kids - two of which she's complicit in their premature deaths by moving to the hellhole that is ISIS territory.

Now she expects to return with her third child and wants free NHS healthcare.

This despite showing NO remorse for joining the murderous death cult in the first place.

Curiously I am one of very few people who think she should be shown mercy. She was brainwashed by a death cult when still a child. I would allow her return as she is a British citizen, put her newborn in care, try her for Treason, put her in a Cat-A jail and try to deprogramme her.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

ISIS were directly responsible for the rape and murder of countless innocents.

They had no agenda beyond death and destruction. The state should spend no resources on bringing this woman 'home'.

She should be handed over to the Iraqis/Syrians. God forbid that a group like ISIS is ever formed again but if it is ever we must send a deterrent to all those who join that there is repercussions for their actions.

We cannot accept people going on a jolly in the desert, murdering people and then let them back home if it doesnt work out for them.

 

[ahsan17]

The fact that she is still an adult and feels no remorse or regrets suggests she should not be let into the UK. Going to another country to essentially work for a terrorist cult like ISIS should be considered treason by any country not Saudi Arabia. It should be made clear that you cannot work for a terrorist group and then without showing any remorse or regret ask to be considered just another civilian. If she was still a minor, it would be one thing. She is an adult now and feels no different.

With that being said, from what I am hearing, she is a national of UK and doesn't have dual nationality. If that's the case, UK would have no choice but to take her in. They can still prosecute her for treason though.

 

[Abdullah719]

IS bride Shamima Begum 'having British citzenship removed'

IS bride Shamima Begum is having her British citizenship removed by the Home Office, her family's lawyer says.

In a statement, Tasnime Akunjee said: "Family are very disappointed with the Home Office's intention to have an order made depriving Shamima of her citizenship.

"We are considering all legal avenues to challenge this decision."

Shamima Begum, who fled her London home aged 15 to go to Syria and wed an Islamic State fighter, has told how she wants to come back to Britain.

The 19-year-old gave birth this week in a Syrian refugee camp.

https://news.sky.com/story/is-bride-shamima-begum-having-british-citizenship-removed-11642230