Eight years after she joined the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria, the now-23-year-old is about to learn whether she can return to the United Kingdom and regain her British citizenship.
Shamima Begum, who left her home in east London at age 15 to join Islamic State in Syria, will learn today if she is permitted to return to the United Kingdom.
Begum was photographed in 2015 leaving Bethnal Green with two other females to travel to Turkey and then Syria. Where she joined the caliphate.
The Home Office confirmed Sajid Javid’s 2019 passport revocation last year.
Sir James Eadie KC stated to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC): “You can be trafficked in the most abhorrent, unacceptable manner, exposed most unacceptably, and desensitized most unacceptably, and sadly… still be a security concern.”
After a protracted period of gathering evidence and testimony from the government and Begum’s family, the SIAC will issue a written decision regarding whether she should regain her British citizenship and return to the UK.
However, how did Shamima Begum arrive at this juncture. And why is her possible return to the United Kingdom so controversial?
2015
Begum, along with her companions Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana, dropped out of Bethnal Green Academy on February 17 and traveled from Gatwick Airport to Istanbul, Turkey.
Aqsa Mahmood, the first British lady to join Islamic State in Syria two years prior, radicalised them.
The sisters allegedly stole family jewelry to fund their flights.
Once in Syria, Begum married a Dutch Islamic State combatant, Yago Riedijk, with whom she had three deceased children.
Begum was reportedly a “forceful recruiter” of other women for the caliphate.
2016
It was reported that both Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana had passed away.
According to reports, Sultana had married a Somalian-origin IS fighter and was slain in a Russian airstrike.
Abase was reportedly killed in coalition strikes, but this has never been verified. Abase was reportedly married to an Australian IS fighter, but this has never been confirmed.
2019
Begum’s whereabouts or actions remain unknown between 2016 and 2019, and she is not seen or heard from again until a journalist from The Times discovers her in a refugee camp.
Begum had escaped the village of Baghuz, where the Islamic State was making its last stand amid fierce fighting.
She was “unrepentant” about joining IS but wanted to return to the UK after giving birth.
Begum’s British citizenship was revoked in February by Sajid Javid, who was the home secretary at the time. This decision was controversial, as it could have rendered her stateless, in violation of the United Nations.
Her father is Bangladeshi, but the nation has stated that she would be executed if she entered.
In April, the Ministry of Justice granted Begum legal aid to appeal the decision.
2020
The Court of Appeal grants Begum permission to return to the United Kingdom and contest the government’s decision to revoke her British citizenship, though it was unclear at the time how she would do so.
2021
She said she hated her life, not the UK, and wanted to return. She called IS rule “hell, hell on Earth” and denied any role in the terrorist group’s atrocities.
Begum’s return “would create major national security risks” and “increased risk of terrorism,” the government claimed. Days later, the Supreme Court denied Begum’s request to return home, stating that she “would create significant national security risks” and expose the public to an “increased risk of
2022
Begum attempts once more to obtain the right to return to the United Kingdom during a five-day trial with the SIAC.
The Home Office reaffirmed its decision to deny her entry to the United Kingdom. While her parents argued that preventing her from returning home violates their right to family life.
