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Shamima Begum

Summary

Shamima Begum (born 25 August 1999)[1] is a British-born woman who entered Syria to join the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group at the age of 15 and was consequently stripped of UK citizenship.[2] She lives in al-Roj detention camp in Syria.[3] [4]

Shamima Begum
Born (1999-08-25) 25 August 1999 (age 24)
London, England
EducationBethnal Green Academy
Spouse
Yago Riedijk
​
(m. 2015)​
Children3 (all deceased)

Begum was a high school student at Bethnal Green Academy when she and two schoolmates travelled to Syria in February 2015. Her journey was facilitated by an IS smuggler who was providing information to Canadian intelligence. At age 15, Begum married a 23 year old fellow IS member 10 days after her arrival and had three children who all died young. The Daily Telegraph reported that Begum had developed a reputation as an enforcer amongst other members of IS and had tried to recruit other young women to join the group.

In February 2019, Begum was discovered alive at the al-Hawl refugee camp in Northern Syria by war correspondent Anthony Loyd. The following day, British Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, revoked her British citizenship.[5] The British government believed that Begum was a dual citizen and also held Bangladeshi citizenship by descent but this has been contested by the Government of Bangladesh.[6] Begum received threats from other residents at al-Hawl and was moved for her safety to the al-Roj refugee camp in Syria,[7] where she remained as of February 2024.[8]

Javid stated that Begum would never be allowed to return to the United Kingdom.[9] In July 2020, the Court of Appeal ruled that Begum should be permitted to return to the UK in order to fairly contest the Home Secretary’s decision by instructing lawyers properly.[10] 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.[11][12] In February 2020, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission further ruled that Javid's decision to revoke Begum's British citizenship had been lawful, on grounds of national security.[13] Begum also appealed this decision. In February 2024, the Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed the appeal.[14]

Background edit

 
The main entrance of Mulberry Academy Shoreditch, known at the time of Begum's disappearance as Bethnal Green Academy

Begum was born in London to immigrant parents of Bangladeshi Muslim origin and citizenship.[15] She was raised in the Bethnal Green area of Tower Hamlets in East London, where she received her secondary education at the Bethnal Green Academy.[16]

Travel to Syria and IS membership edit

Travel to Syria edit

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 in Syria.[17][18]

Shortly after her departure, Begum's sister expressed hope that she and her school friends had travelled to IS territory only to bring back their friend Sharmeena Begum (no relation), who had travelled there in 2014.[19]

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said in February 2015 that everyone hoped and prayed for the safe return of the three girls to the UK.[20]

Activities in Syria edit

Ten days after arriving in Syria, Begum married Dutch-born Yago Riedijk, a convert to Islam who had arrived in Syria in October 2014.[21][22] This marriage may not be recognised under Dutch law since she was underage at that time.[23] 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.[24][25]

The Daily Telegraph reported that Begum had been an "enforcer" in IS's "morality police", and had tried to recruit other young women to join the jihadist group.[26] The report said that she was allowed to carry a Kalashnikov rifle and earned a reputation as a strict enforcer of IS's laws, such as dress codes for women. An anti-IS activist was also reported by The Daily Telegraph as saying that there were allegations of Begum stitching suicide bombs into explosive vests so they could not be removed without detonating.[27]

Role of Canadian intelligence edit

In 2022, investigative journalist Josh Baker retraced her route through Turkey and uncovered a vast ISIS people-smuggling network that facilitated Begum's travel to Syria. He also received hundreds of pages of secret files on the smuggler that revealed the man at the heart of the network, Mohammed Rashed, was conducting an intelligence operation. A serving senior intelligence officer confirmed to Baker that Rashed was a Canadian asset.[28][29]

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said: "Obviously we know we live in a particularly dangerous world, the fight against terrorism requires our intelligence services to continue to be flexible and to be creative in their approaches but every step of the way they are bound by strict rules, by principles and values that Canadians hold dear… and we expect that those rights be followed. I know there are questions about certain incidents or operations of the past and we will ensure to follow up on those."[30][31]

Separately published in August 2022, Richard Kerbaj's book The Secret History of the Five Eyes claimed that Mohammed Rashed, who helped her travel to Syria, was passing information to Canadian intelligence, which was known to the Metropolitan Police. This link was not acknowledged by British or Canadian authorities. The Canadian intelligence was using Rashed 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, who confirmed the timeline of events.[32][33]

Intended return edit

Media appearance edit

In February 2019, The Times' war correspondent Anthony Loyd found Begum at the al-Hawl refugee camp in Northern Syria.[34][35] She was pregnant with her third child and said that she wanted to return to the UK to raise them, but did not regret her decision to join IS.[34] Begum said she had been unfazed by seeing the head of a beheaded man as he was "an enemy of Islam", but believed that IS did not deserve victory because of their corruption and oppression.[34]

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."[36] Three days after Loyd found her, Begum gave birth to a boy.[24]

Begum was interviewed by BBC correspondent Quentin Sommerville on 18 February 2019. During the interview, Begum asked for the UK's forgiveness and claimed that she still supported "some British values". She said she had been partly inspired to join IS by videos of fighters beheading hostages and also of "the good life" under the group. When asked about the Manchester Arena bombing, she said she was shocked and didn't "know about the kids", then said it was wrong to kill innocent people, but that IS considered it justified as retaliation for the coalition bombing of IS-held areas. When questioned about rape, enslavement and murder of Yazidi women, she claimed, "Shia do the same in Iraq".[37]

Begum's frequent visits from journalists at al-Hawl earned the attention of female Tunisian IS camp members who threatened her if she spoke out against IS ideology.[38] On 1 March 2019, her lawyer confirmed that Begum had been moved to al-Roj refugee camp for her safety.[7]

In 2021, Begum cooperated with investigative journalist Josh Baker and gave what she claims is her full account of what happened. It is investigated in the podcast The Shamima Begum Story as series 2 of I'm Not A Monster.[39] She is also featured in a film of the same name.[40]

Citizenship edit

In 2019, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced that he had made an order depriving Begum of British citizenship.[5] Under international law, the UK government could not deprive her of British citizenship if such deprivation would leave her stateless. However, the UK government contended that Begum was a dual national, also holding citizenship of Bangladesh, and was not therefore made stateless by the decision.[41][5][42] The Government of Bangladesh stated that Begum did not currently hold Bangladeshi citizenship and, without it, would not be allowed to enter Bangladesh.[43][44][45] However, the British courts later accepted the argument that Begum was indeed a citizen of Bangladesh from birth (see below).

Under British law, Begum had the right to appeal against the Home Office's decision to revoke her UK citizenship.[5] Javid's decision was criticised by Begum's immediate family members, but her brother-in-law Muhammad Rahman urged the public to support the government decision. He said: "The information they have is to the best of their ability and the British people should support it."[46] Begum said that she might consider applying for Dutch citizenship.[47][48]

In February 2019, her father Ahmed Ali said, "If she at least admitted she made a mistake then I would feel sorry for her and other people would feel sorry for her, but she does not accept her wrong." Begum reacted by stating that she regretted speaking to the media and said the UK is making an example out of her.[49]

On 3 March, Yago Riedijk, her husband, a member of IS, was interviewed by the BBC in a Kurdish detention centre in Syria. He said that he wished to return to the Netherlands with Begum.[23] The Dutch government stated that they were not going to repatriate him.[50]

On 8 March, Syrian Democratic Forces announced that Begum's son Jarrah, whose imminent birth had apparently motivated her desire to return to the UK, had died in hospital the previous day. The cause of death was certified as pneumonia.[25] The baby was buried in an unmarked grave outside of al-Roj.[38] Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott and human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith criticised the UK government's decision to block Begum's return to the UK.[51]

A government spokesman said that, "The death of any child is tragic and deeply distressing for the family". Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt reiterated the position stated by Ben Wallace concerning risks to operatives who might be sent to recover her. He said "Shamima knew when she made the decision to join Daesh, she was going into a country where there was no embassy, there was no consular assistance, and I'm afraid those decisions, awful though it is, they do have consequences". He said that the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development were trying to rescue IS brides and that the decisions to deprive individuals of UK citizenship were based on evidence.[52]

It was reported in August 2022 that Begum’s lawyer claims the British authorities knew that Begum was helped to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State by a Canadian intelligence agent – as claimed by Richard Kerbaj in his book The Secret History of the Five Eyes – a factor that had not been brought to the attention of the Supreme Court.[32][33] Tasnime Akunjee, lawyer for the Begum family, said he had obtained a hearing in November 2022 to challenge the removal of Begum's citizenship on the basis that as Home Secretary Sajid Javid had failed to consider that she was a victim of human trafficking.[53]

On 22 February 2023, it was reported that the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) had ruled that the revocation of her citizenship was lawful.[54][55]

Legal case against the British Government edit

Making citizens stateless (without citizenship of any country) is unlawful under the British Nationality Act 1981, section 40[56] and is also contrary to the United Nations Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, of which the UK is a signatory. Begum was born a British citizen under United Kingdom law as her father (despite having already left the UK) had indefinite leave to remain and so had the "settled in the United Kingdom" status that the British Nationality Act 1981 describes as being a satisfactory prerequisite to allow Begum to be born a British citizen.[57][58] However, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission found that as a matter of Bangladeshi nationality law Begum also holds Bangladeshi citizenship through her parents, under section 5 of the Citizenship Act, 1951.[59]

In April 2019, it was reported that Begum had been granted legal aid to fight the revocation of her British citizenship. Hunt described the Legal Aid Agency's decision as "very uncomfortable", but said that the UK is "a country that believes that people with limited means should have access to the resources of the state if they want to challenge the decisions the state has made about them".[60]

In May 2019, Bangladeshi foreign minister Abdul Momen repeated his position on Begum and added that if she entered Bangladesh she would face the death penalty due to the nation's "zero tolerance policy" towards terrorism.[61]

In August 2019, the Metropolitan Police requested media organisations that had interviewed Begum—the BBC, ITN, Sky News and The Times—to surrender any unpublished material they may hold about Begum. They sought disclosure under the Terrorism Act 2000 in order to prepare a potential prosecution against Begum.[62]

Her lawyer, Tasnime Akunjee, travelled to Kurdish-controlled Syria to meet Begum but was turned away.[63]

In July 2020, the Court of Appeal ruled that Begum could return to the UK to contest the government's decision to rescind her British citizenship. It was unclear how she would return to the UK to plead her case, as the British government had previously stated that it would never let her return.[10] The Home Secretary appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom; in February 2021 the court ruled in Begum v Home Secretary in favour of the Home Secretary on all grounds.[11][12]

On 22 February 2023, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission rejected her appeal against revocation of her British citizenship, which effectively prohibits her from entering the United Kingdom. Begum's lawyers said they would appeal the decision.[54][55] On 23 February 2024, the Court of Appeal unanimously rejected a further appeal from her against the commission's decision.[64]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Royal Court of Justice Judgement" (PDF). 16 July 2020 – via www.judiciary.uk.
  2. ^ "Shamima Begum to find out today if she is allowed back in the UK". Sky News. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Shamima Begum to find out today if she is allowed back in the UK". Sky News. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  4. ^ Crawford, Alex. "Inside the 'ticking time bomb' camp where Shamima Begum is being held". Sky News. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d "What is Shamima Begum's legal status?". BBC News. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019. Shamima Begum - the schoolgirl who fled London to join the Islamic State group in Syria - has been stripped of her UK citizenship after expressing a desire to return.
  6. ^ Ali Farhad, Shah (23 February 2019). "Shamima Begum is not a Bangladeshi citizen". Dhaka Tribune. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  7. ^ a b Grierson, Jamie (16 July 2020). "Shamima Begum: how the case developed". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Shamima Begum to find out today if she is allowed back in the UK". Sky News. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  9. ^ Wyatt, Tim (29 September 2019). "Isis bride Shamima Begum will never be allowed to return to UK, says government". The Independent.
  10. ^ a b Casciani, Dominic (16 July 2020). "Shamima Begum can return to UK to fight for citizenship, Court of Appeal rules". BBC News (online). British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Shamima Begum: 'IS bride' cannot return to UK, court rules". BBC News. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Begum (Respondent) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Appellant)". The Supreme Court. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Shamima Begum loses appeal over citizenship". BBC News. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Shamima Begum loses appeal against removal of British citizenship | Shamima Begum | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Shamima Begum loses appeal against removal of British citizenship". Al Jazeera. 23 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  16. ^ Mohdin, Aamna (14 February 2019). "Let Shamima Begum come back, say Bethnal Green residents". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  17. ^ Walton, Gregory (23 March 2015). "Isil defector girls' families go to Turkey to probe disappearance". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  18. ^ Barrett, David (10 March 2015). "Three 'Jihadi brides' from London who travelled to Syria will not face terrorism charges if they return". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  19. ^ "Syria girls: Families 'cannot stop crying'". BBC News. 22 February 2015. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2015. She said Shamima had been 'upset' after a friend from her school left for Syria and said the family was hoping the girls had 'gone to go and bring her back'.
  20. ^ Davis, Anna. "Education Secretary's letter of support to 'IS School'". Evening Standard. p. 2.
  21. ^ "Schoolgirls who feld home to join Isis are feared dead by their families". London Evening Standard. 6 August 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  22. ^ Brown, David; Simpson, John (15 February 2019). "Shamima Begum's Dutch husband is convicted terrorist". The Times. Arnhem, Netherlands. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  23. ^ a b "Shamima Begum: 'We should live in Holland' says IS husband". BBC News. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  24. ^ a b Addley, Esther; Boffey, Daniel (21 February 2019). "Shamima Begum's family hope to bring her baby to UK". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  25. ^ a b "Shamima Begum: IS teenager's baby son has died, SDF confirms". BBC News. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  26. ^ Mendick, Robert (8 April 2019). "Shamima Begum was a cruel enforcer in ISIL's morality police–witness said". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  27. ^ Dearden, Lizzie; Hall, Richard (8 April 2019). "Shamima Begum 'was member of feared ISIL morality police' in Syria". The Independent. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  28. ^ Murphy, Matt (1 September 2022). "Shamima Begum: Canada will investigate spy smuggling allegations". BBC News. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  29. ^ Nabbi, Zayn (1 September 2022). "Canada to probe allegations that 'intelligence agent' aided in human trafficking to ISIS". CNN. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  30. ^ Murphy, Matt (1 September 2022). "Shamima Begum: Canada will investigate spy smuggling allegations". BBC News. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  31. ^ Nabbi, Zayn (1 September 2022). "Canada to probe allegations that 'intelligence agent' aided in human trafficking to ISIS". CNN. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  32. ^ a b Dugan, Emily; Sabbagh, Dan (31 August 2022). "Shamima Begum 'smuggled into Syria for Islamic State by Canadian spy'". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  33. ^ a b Sabbagh, Dan (31 August 2022). "Should Shamima Begum be allowed to return to the UK to argue her case?". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  34. ^ a b c Loyd, Anthony (13 February 2019). "Shamima Begum: Bring me home, says Bethnal Green girl who left to join Isis". The Times. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  35. ^ Walker, James (14 February 2019). "Times website and app break on day it secures 'major scoop' on London schoolgirl who joined ISIS". Press Gazette.
  36. ^ Walker, Amy; Wintour, Patrick (14 February 2019). "UK will not put officials at risk to rescue Isis Britons, says minister". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  37. ^ "Shamima Begum: 'I didn't want to be IS poster girl'". BBC News. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  38. ^ a b Loyd, Anthony (1 April 2019). "Shamima Begum: I was brainwashed. I knew nothing". The Times. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  39. ^ "I'm Not a Monster". BBC 5. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  40. ^ "The Shamima Begum Story". BBC Documentaries. 7 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  41. ^ "Shamima Begum: IS teenager to lose UK citizenship". BBC News. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  42. ^ https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/docs/uksc-2020-0156-judgment.pdf [2021] UKSC 7 para 1, accessed 5 September 2022
  43. ^ "Shamima Begum will not be allowed here, Bangladesh says". BBC News. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019. Shamima Begum is not a Bangladeshi citizen and there is "no question" of her being allowed into the country, Bangladesh's ministry of foreign affairs has said.
  44. ^ "Shamima Begum: Moment Islamic State bride learns she's not going home to Britain". BBC News. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  45. ^ Dearden, Lizzie (20 February 2019). "Bangladesh says Isis bride Shamima Begum is not a citizen and 'nothing to do with us'". The Independent. Retrieved 24 February 2019. Shamima Begum is not a Bangladeshi citizen and cannot enter the country, its government has said, meaning the UK has made her stateless.
  46. ^ Mellor, Joe (20 February 2019). "Brother in law of Isis bride Shamima Begum has backed the government decision to strip her of her citizenship". The London Economic. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  47. ^ "'ISIL bride' Shamima Begum says she might seek Dutch citizenship". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  48. ^ ITV News (20 February 2019), Shamima Begum interview: The moment IS bride learns she's lost UK citizenship | ITV News, retrieved 21 February 2019
  49. ^ Dearden, Lizzie (24 February 2019). "Shamima Begum's father 'doesn't have problem' with daughter's citizenship being removed". The Independent. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  50. ^ "Jihadi Yago Riedijk 'will not be allowed to live with his family in Netherlands'". DutchNews.nl. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  51. ^ Martin Chulov; Nazia Parveen; Mohammed Rasool (8 March 2019). "Shamima Begum: baby son dies in Syrian refugee camp". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2019. Following news of the boy's death, the shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, also criticised Javid's decision. She tweeted: 'It is against international law to make someone stateless, and now an innocent child has died as a result of a British woman being stripped of her citizenship. This is callous and inhumane.'
  52. ^ "Shamima Begum: IS bride set to be granted legal aid". BBC News. 10 March 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  53. ^ Josh Baker (1 September 2022). "Shamima Begum: Spy for Canada smuggled schoolgirl to Syria". BBC News. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  54. ^ a b Dominic Casciani (22 February 2023). "Shamima Begum bid to regain UK citizenship rejected". BBC News. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  55. ^ a b Haroon Siddique (22 February 2023). "Shamima Begum loses appeal against removal of British citizenship". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  56. ^ "British Nationality Act 1981: Section 40". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 1981 c. 61 (s. 40). Retrieved 9 September 2020.
    • (2) The Secretary of State may by order deprive a person of a citizenship status if the Secretary of State is satisfied that deprivation is conducive to the public good.
    • ...
    • (4) The Secretary of State may not make an order under subsection (2) if he is satisfied that the order would make a person stateless.
    • (4A) But that does not prevent the Secretary of State from making an order under subsection (2) to deprive a person of a citizenship status if—
      • ...
      • (c) the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds for believing that the person is able, under the law of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom, to become a national of such a country or territory.
  57. ^ Wheeler, Marina (7 February 2020). "Begum still barred from returning to UK or reclaiming British citizenship". UK Human Rights Blog. Retrieved 9 August 2020. Ms. Begum's parents were born in Bangladesh, married there and remained Bangladeshi citizens. Her father came to the UK in 1975 but had since returned to Bangladesh. Ms Begum was born in the UK in 1999. She was a British citizen at birth because at that time one of her parents – her father – had Indefinite Leave to Remain.
  58. ^ "British Nationality Act 1981: Section 1". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 1981 c. 61 (s. 1). Retrieved 9 August 2020.

    A person born in the United Kingdom after commencement ... shall be a British citizen if at the time of the birth his father or mother is—

    • (a) a British citizen; or
    • (b) settled in the United Kingdom ...
  59. ^ Begum v Special Immigration Appeals Commission & Others [2020] EWCA Civ 918 at para. 8 (16 July 2020), Court of Appeal (England and Wales)
  60. ^ "Shamima Begum: 'Not safe' to rescue IS bride's baby, says Hunt". BBC News. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  61. ^ "Shamima Begum: IS bride 'would face death penalty in Bangladesh'". BBC News. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  62. ^ Waterson, Jim (6 August 2019). "Met police seek access to journalists' material on Shamima Begum". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  63. ^ "ISIS Prisoners & Repatriations in a Time of COVID". The Media Line. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020. Tasnime Akunjee, Attorney for Shamima Begum's family has traveled to SDF territory only to be briefly detained and told he could not see his client. He has been fighting the case of Shamima's repatriation to the UK and will discuss the moral and legal issues regarding a minor joining a terrorist group, issues of detaining an individual without charges, stripping citizenship, and the cruelties involved in not bringing her infant back to the UK for life-saving medical care.
  64. ^ "Shamima Begum loses bid to regain UK citizenship". BBC News. 23 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.

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