Shamima Begum

Shamima Begum (born 25 August 1999) is a British born woman, who left the UK in 2015 aged 15. She obtained entry to Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In February 2019, Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, acting for the Government of the United Kingdom revoked her British citizenship. He later stated that she would never be allowed to return to the UK.

In July 2020, the Court of Appeal ruled that Begum should be permitted to return to the UK in order fairly to contest the Home Secretary’s decision by instructing lawyers properly. This ruling was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom which, on 26 February 2021, ruled unanimously against her, reversing the decision of the Court of Appeal and preventing her return.

Background

Begum was born in England to immigrant parents of Bangladeshi origin and citizenship. She was raised as a Muslim in the Bethnal Green area of Tower Hamlets, East London, where she received her secondary education at the Bethnal Green Academy. Together with her friends Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana, she left the UK in February 2015, at age 15. They travelled via Turkey to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Syria.

Shortly after her departure, Begum's sister expressed hope that she and her school friends had travelled to ISIL territory only to bring back their friend Sharmeena Begum (no relation), who had travelled there in 2014.

Education secretary Nicky Morgan said in February 2015 that everyone hoped and prayed for the safe return of the three girls to the UK.

Ten days after arriving in Syria, Begum married Dutch-born Yago Riedijk, a convert to Islam who had arrived in Syria in October 2014. This marriage may not be recognised under Dutch law since she was underage at that time. She gave birth to three children, all of whom died young; her youngest child was born in a refugee camp in February 2019 and, by March 2019, had died of a lung infection.

''The Daily Telegraph'' reported that Begum was an "enforcer" in ISIL's "morality police", and tried to recruit other young women to join the jihadist group. She was allowed to carry a Kalashnikov rifle and earned a reputation as a strict enforcer of ISIL's laws, such as dress codes for women. An anti-ISIL activist told ''The Independent'' that there are separate allegations of "Begum titchingsuicide bombers into explosive vests so they could not be removed without detonating".

Published in August 2022, Richard Kerbaj's book ''The Secret History of the Five Eyes'' claimed that Mohammed Al Rasheed, who helped her travel to Syria, was passing information to Canadian intelligence, which was known to Metropolitan Police. This link was not acknowledged by British or Canadian authorities. The Canadian intelligence was using Rasheed for information on the Islamic State, allowing him to help people to travel to Syria to work for the Islamic State. Kerbaj said that he interviewed many Canadian intelligence officers, which confirmed the timeline of events.

Intended return

Media appearance

On 13 February 2019, ''The Times'' war correspondent Anthony Loyd found Begum at the al-Hawl refugee camp in Northern Syria. She wanted to return to the UK to raise her child, but did not regret her decision to join ISIL. She said she had been unfazed by seeing the head of a beheaded man as he was "an enemy of Islam", but believes that ISIL did not deserve victory because of their corruption and oppression. When asked if she would be extracted from Syria, Security Minister Ben Wallace said, "I'm not putting at risk British people's lives to go and look for terrorists or former terrorists in a failed state." Three days after Loyd found her, Begum gave birth to a boy.

Begum was interviewed by BBC
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