Isis bride Shamima Begum in BBC The Shamima Begum Story (Image: BBC)
Shamima Begum, the so-called Jihadi bride exiled in a Syrian refugee camp, is at the centre of a diplomatic spat between the UK and US over her bid return to the UK. Express.co.uk readers are being asked: should she finally be allowed to do so?
Foreign Secretary David Lammy today insisted the 25-year-old, who travelled to the Middle Eastern country to join ISIS in 2015, will never be permitted to return.
The Foreign Secretary was speaking after calls by Sebastian Gorka, Donald Trump’s incoming counter-terrorism chief, for the repatriation of British members of so-called Islamic State (IS) being held in Syrian prison camps.
Such a move would be highly controversial, given Begum’s decision, aged 15, to quit the UK and marry a Dutch ISIS fighter, living under the group’s control.
The UK government stripped her of her citizenship four years later, citing national security concerns and arguing that her actions demonstrated allegiance to a terrorist organisation.
The Home Office contended that Begum could claim citizenship in Bangladesh, where her parents were from, although Bangladesh denied this, leaving her effectively stateless. The decision sparked significant legal and ethical debates about state security versus individual rights.
Begum also faced criticism after an early interview in which she appeared to show little remorse for joining the terrorist organisation and demonstrated a lack of empathy for its victims.
She also described the Manchester Arena bombing, which killed 22 people, as “justified” because of Western airstrikes in Syria, a comment that shocked and angered many.
Nevertheless, Mr Gorka, the incoming President’s deputy assistant and senior director for counterterrorism, stated that any nation seeking to be regarded as a “serious ally” of the United States should demonstrate its commitment to the global fight against the extremist group by repatriating citizens currently held in north-east Syria.
Syrians celebrate the fall of the Assad regime (Image: Getty)
Mr Lammy responded by asserting that the Government would “always put British security interests first and the safeguarding of our population”.
Ms Begum was just 15 years old when she left her home in Bethnal Green, east London, to travel into IS-controlled territory in 2015. She was “married off” to an IS fighter and had her British citizenship revoked by the Government in February 2019.
The ongoing upheaval in Syria, following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, has cast doubt over the long-term viability of camps housing IS-linked prisoners. The Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition opposed to Assad and allied with Western powers, currently oversee tens of thousands of captured foreign IS members and their children in sprawling camps and detention facilities.
The Times reported that Ms Begum is among approximately 20 women, 40 children, and 10 men from Britain detained in these camps.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy says Shamima Begum will not be returning to the UK (Image: Getty Images)
Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Mr Lammy stated: “Shamima Begum will not be coming back to the UK. It’s gone right through the courts. She’s not a UK national.
“We will not be bringing her back to the UK. We’re really clear about that.
“We will act in our security interests. And many of those in those camps are dangerous, are radicals.”
He further added that some of those individuals, if permitted to return, “would have to be, frankly, jailed as soon as they arrived.”
Interviewed by The Times, Mr Gorka said: “Any nation which wishes to be seen to be a serious ally and friend of the most powerful nation in the world should act in a fashion that reflects that serious commitment” when asked whether the UK should be pressured to accept the return of Isis members.
“That is doubly so for the UK, which has a very special place in President Trump’s heart, and we would all wish to see the ‘special relationship’ fully re-established.”
