Ex-Jihadi bride Shamima Begum is afraid that she could face the death penalty if convicted in northern Syria over her support for Daesh*, The Sun reported.
The British-born woman, who left Bethnal Green, East London, UK, in 2015 aged 15 to join the terror group was cited as telling the outlet:
“No, no, I don’t want that, that can’t happen. I don’t want to be tried in Syria.”
The 22-year-old’s fears of execution were sparked after she was informed she would be standing trial in Rojava for terror offences.
The self-proclaimed Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava, in northeastern Syria, is secured by Kurdish-led forces. Sources were cited as saying the former Brit is likely to face prosecution after a probe was launched there into her links to Daesh.
Amira Abase, left, Kadiza Sultana, center, and Shamima Begum, walk through Gatwick airport, south of London, before catching their flight to Turkey on Tuesday Feb 17, 2015
© AP Photo / Metropolitan Police, File
Allegations against Begum — whose parents were born in Bangladesh —are believed to include claims she helped to make suicide bomber vests for terrorists. Rojava investigators are reportedly looking into her earlier claims in a Times interview that she was “not fazed” by seeing "beheaded heads" in bins. She also told an interviewer she did not regret joining Daesh.
“Begum has convinced herself she’ll pay the ultimate price if she is tried and found guilty of terrorism offences in Syria. She’s very frightened and concerned. She’s been told she will be put on trial in Rojava, probably as one of a group of women accused of terrorist offences. She hasn’t been given a date yet but has been told it will be in around September or October,” a source was cited as saying.
Begum’s friends and solicitor, who have voiced concerns about her fate, stated that while Rojava authorities “don’t advocate the death penalty,” this has failed to alleviate the woman’s fears of escaping such a punishment.
“And even if she does, she’s facing a life jail sentence,” a source added.
Begum, who married a Dutch national while she was in Syria and gave birth to three children but lost them all, was stripped by the UK Home Office of her citizenship.
The British government contended that Begum was eligible for citizenship of Bangladesh and was, accordingly, not left stateless. The woman failed in her last year’s bid at the UK Supreme Court to come back to Britain to fight her case in person.
Begum was cited as reiterating her innocence and arguing she was ‘an angel’ brainwashed and then sex-trafficked by Daesh.
A source was cited by the publication as saying Shamima Begum had been talking to her family in London and that they were getting legal advice on the issue. However, it remains unclear if a UK-based lawyer would be allowed to represent Begum in court in Rojava.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia and many other states