Former ISIS Bride Shamima Begum Makes Renewed Push To Be Allowed Back Into Britain
Shamima Begum has made a renewed push to be allowed back into Britain.
The former ISIS bride left the UK back in 2015 with friends friends Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana to soak up a life in the Middle East.
Her citizenship was revoked back in 2019 and she's been begging for authorities to allow her to return home ever since.
Not only has she said she's ditched the Islamic State mentality but she reckons she could be a force for good in Britain.
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Speaking to iNews from the Al-Roj prison camp in Syria, the 22-year-old said she wants to be 'as British as possible'.
"I could be used as an example, like you don't want to end up like her," she explained to the outlet.
"If it stops children making the same mistake that I made of course use me as an example.
"Tell the kids 'don't be like her, don't become like her'."
She said she was shocked by how fast and easy it was to leave home and get trafficked into Syria to become a bride.
Begum and her friends paid £1,000 each and told a travel agent they were going on a holiday to Turkey.
She went to Syria and married Dutch-born ISIS fighter Yago Riedjik, who is currently being held at a detention camp in northeast Syria. They had three children together, who have all since died.
She has reflected on how she was radicalised online within a year and was happy to ditch her home country when she was just 15 years old.
"The problem is at the age of being a teenager you're very arrogant and you don't listen to people so sometimes you really do have to learn the hard way," she told iNews.
But Begum realises that she will likely not be allowed to come home and will spend the rest of her life in Syria.
The Sun reports Begum is going to face prosecution, with her trial likely to begin in either September or October.
The news outlet reports she is 'very frightened and concerned' at the possibility of being sentenced to death, having 'convinced herself' she will be executed if found guilty of terrorism despite local authorities not advocating for the death penalty.
Even if not sentenced to death she could face a lengthy prison sentence if found guilty.
Officials will be looking at her actions and previous statements as she claims she 'didn't know ISIS was a death cult'.
The possibility of being sentenced to death could renew campaigns to allow her to return to the UK as the British government opposes the death penalty.
Topics: Shamima Begum, News
Stewart Perrie