Shamima Begum latest: ISIS bride says UK is ‘making example of me’ as her father dramatically declares she doesn’t deserve to return home

Shamima Begum, who fled the UK to join Islamic State, says she regrets speaking to the media
BBC
Patrick Grafton-Green24 February 2019

Islamic State bride Shamima Begum has said the British government is “making an example” of her and that she regrets ever speaking to the media.

It came as her father dramatically intervened in the debate surrounding her UK citizenship, insisting he "does not have a problem" with the Government's decision not to allow her to return home.

The teenager, who fled London for Syria aged 15, recently gave birth to a baby boy and has said she wants to come back to the UK to look after him.

But last week she had her British citizenship revoked.

Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph from the al-Hol camp in Syria, Ms Begum said: "They are making an example of me. I regret speaking to the media.

"I wish I had stayed low and found a different way to contact my family. That's why I spoke to the newspaper."

She was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green to join IS in 2015 and resurfaced heavily pregnant at a Syrian refugee camp last week.

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to flee the UK for Syria in 2015 
AP

Speaking to the Mail on Sunday at his home in the Sunamganj region of north-east Bangladesh, her father, Ahmed Ali, 60, said: "I am on the side of the Government. I can't say whether it is right or wrong, but if the law of the land says that it is correct to cancel her citizenship, then I agree.

"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."

Home Secretary Sajid Javid revoked her British citizenship in a move only permissible under international law if it does not leave the individual stateless.

It was speculated that Ms Begum, who is of Bangladeshi heritage, may have citizenship there but Bangladesh's minister of state for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam denied this.

Her family have written to Mr Javid asking for his help to bring her newborn son to Britain.

The letter said the baby boy was a "true innocent" who should not "lose the privilege of being raised in the safety of this country".

Her sister Remu Begum, writing on behalf of the family, asked how they could help the Home Secretary "in bringing my nephew home to us".

The family said they have had no contact with Ms Begum and had only learned she had given birth to a boy through media reports.

They made clear that they were "shocked and appalled" at the "vile comments" Ms Begum had recently made to the media.

Mr Javid's removal of Ms Begum's citizenship came amid heated debate over whether the teenager should be able to return to the UK after she was found in a refugee camp with the terror group's reign nearly over.

While many do not want to see Ms Begum return to the UK, others have argued she should face prosecution for her actions, and attempts at deradicalisation.

The Begum family's lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said she was born in the UK, has never had a Bangladeshi passport and is not a dual citizen, which was confirmed by the Bangladeshi minister.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in