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'Daesh Bride' Shamima Begum's Lawyers Claim She Was Sex-Trafficked to Terror Group
'Daesh Bride' Shamima Begum's Lawyers Claim She Was Sex-Trafficked to Terror Group
Sputnik International
Shamima Begum was one of three teenage girls from the same east London school who travelled to Turkey in 2015 — from where they entered war-torn Syria to marry... 22.11.2022, Sputnik International
2022-11-22T12:21+0000
2022-11-22T12:21+0000
2023-05-28T15:25+0000
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Daesh bride Shamima Begum's lawyers have claimed she was the victim of sex trafficking as they argue for her UK citizenship to be reinstated.Begum, then 15, and her friends Amira Abase, also 15 , and Kadiza Sultana, 16, travelled to Turkey in 2015 and then entered Syria to to be married to Daesh militants. The three were schoolmates from Bethnal Green Academy in London's East End.They were allegedly recruited by Glaswegian woman Aqsa Mahmood, then aged around 22, who in 2013 became the first British woman to join the terrorist group.Daesh was largely defeated following the 2015 Russian military intervention in Syria. Begum was captured by US-backed YPG Kurdish separatist forces and held at the al-Hawl camp in north-eastern Syria, inside the zone illegally occupied by US troops.She bore three children by her terrorist husband Yago Riedijk, a Dutch citizen who is also in captivity, all of whom died in infancy including one born at the camp in February 2019.Begum was interviewed twice at al-Hawl by visiting British journalists in early 2019, expressing her wish to return to the UK.But she also said she did not regret joining Daesh after watching videos of militants beheading hostages, who she called "enemies of Islam". She justified Daesh atrocities in northern Iraq by claiming Shia Muslims, who Daesh consider apostates, had done the same.Following those interviews, then-home secretary Sajid Javid revoked Begum's British citizenship — insisting the move did not leave her stateless as she was entitled to nationality of her parents' homeland Bangladesh. However, the Bangladeshi government has since denied that Begum is a citizen of that countryThe Court of Appeal ruled in July 2020 that Begum could return to the UK to contest the government's decision, but in February 2021 the Supreme Court overturned that decision.Begum, now 23, has since adopted secular clothing for interviews and told journalists she regretted her sojourn with the terrorist army, as well as claiming people-traffickers facilitated her journey to Syria. She is still being held at a YPG-run camp in northern Syria, where her captors have failed to hand her over to Syrian government authorities for prosecution.The Dutch government has also refused to repatriate Riedijk, Begum's husband, from Syria.Sultana's family believe she was killed in a Russian air strike. Abase's whereabouts are unknown, but Begum has said she believes her friend is still alive — although her Australian jihadi husband Abdullah Elmir was reportedly killed in bombing by the US-led 'coalition' against Daesh.* Daesh (or Islamic State/ISIS/IS) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia and internationally
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'Daesh Bride' Shamima Begum's Lawyers Claim She Was Sex-Trafficked to Terror Group
12:21 GMT 22.11.2022 (Updated: 15:25 GMT 28.05.2023) Shamima Begum was one of three teenage girls from the same east London school who travelled to Turkey in 2015 — from where they entered war-torn Syria to marry militants of the Daesh* terrorist group.
Daesh bride Shamima Begum's
lawyers have claimed she was the victim of sex trafficking as they argue for her UK citizenship to be reinstated.
Begum's barristers told a Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) hearing they had "overwhelming" evidence she was trafficked to Syria and that "depriving her of her British citizenship was a disproportionate means of addressing any alleged national security risk."
Begum, then 15, and her friends Amira Abase, also 15 , and Kadiza Sultana, 16, travelled to Turkey in 2015 and then entered Syria to to be married to Daesh militants. The three were schoolmates from Bethnal Green Academy in London's East End.
They were allegedly recruited by Glaswegian woman Aqsa Mahmood, then aged around 22, who in 2013 became the first British woman to join the terrorist group.
"At its heart, this case concerns a British child aged 15 who was persuaded, influenced and affected with her friends by a determined and effective ISIS propaganda machine," said Samantha Knights KC.
Daesh was largely defeated following the 2015 Russian military intervention in Syria. Begum was captured by US-backed YPG Kurdish separatist forces and held at the al-Hawl camp in north-eastern Syria, inside the zone illegally occupied by US troops.
She bore three children by her terrorist husband
Yago Riedijk, a Dutch citizen who is also in captivity, all of whom died in infancy including one born at the camp in February 2019.
Lawyers for the UK Home Office argued Begum had left Daesh-held territory "for safety" rather than the aim of "disengagement from the group". They also pointed out her lack of remorse and regret in interviews while in captivity, adding that she was "aware of the nature of the group when she travelled" to Syria in 2015.
Begum was interviewed twice at al-Hawl by visiting British journalists in early 2019, expressing her wish to return to the UK.
But she also said she did not regret joining Daesh after watching videos of militants beheading hostages, who she called "enemies of Islam". She justified Daesh atrocities in northern Iraq by claiming Shia Muslims, who Daesh consider apostates, had done the same.
Following those interviews, then-home secretary Sajid Javid revoked Begum's British citizenship — insisting the move did not leave her stateless as she was entitled to nationality of her parents' homeland Bangladesh. However, the Bangladeshi government has since denied that Begum is a citizen of that country
The Court of Appeal ruled in July 2020 that Begum could return to the UK to contest the government's decision, but in February 2021 the Supreme Court overturned that decision.
Begum's legal team questioned an officer from counter-espionage and counter-terrorism service MI5, named only as 'Witness E', on whether the organisation had considered the possibility that Begum had been trafficked. Witness E replied that MI5 agents were not experts on "the definition of" trafficking, but that victims could also be security threats.
1 September 2022, 09:37 GMT
Begum, now 23, has since adopted secular clothing for interviews and told journalists she regretted her sojourn with the terrorist army, as well as claiming people-traffickers facilitated her journey to Syria. She is still being held at a YPG-run camp in northern Syria, where her captors have failed to hand her over to Syrian government authorities
for prosecution.
The Dutch government has also refused to repatriate Riedijk, Begum's husband, from Syria.
Sultana's family believe she was killed in a Russian air strike. Abase's whereabouts are unknown, but Begum has said she believes her friend is still alive — although her Australian jihadi husband Abdullah Elmir was reportedly killed in bombing by the US-led 'coalition' against Daesh.
* Daesh (or Islamic State/ISIS/IS) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia and internationally
