Ex-ISIS member Shamima Begum now - stripped of British citizenship and new look
It's been five years since Shamima Begum was stripped of her British citizenship after leaving the UK as a 15-year-old schoolgirl to join Islamic State (ISIS).
The jihadi bride's long battle to return to England came to an end today as she lost a Court of Appeal challenge over the removal of citizenship, after a long battle.
The ruling means she remains in Syria with no chance of returning to the UK. Last year, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission ruled that the suspicion Begum had been trafficked to Syria was insufficient for her to succeed in the appeal.
In February 2023, the judge, Mr Justice Jay, found that there was a "credible suspicion" she was a victim of trafficking, but the Home Secretary was not formally required to consider this when he removed her citizenship.
Schoolgirl Begum left east London in 2015 with her close friends from Bethnal Green Academy, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15, to travel to Istanbul, Turkey, from Gatwick Airport to join one of the most savage terrorist groups in history. She ignored her family's warnings that Syria was a "dangerous place" and married the notoriously hardline IS member, Dutch-born Yago Riedijk, 27.
ISIS bride Shamima Begum on how 'dream' became nightmare when she joined group
Begum's eldest sister holds up a photo of her sibling in 2015 (AFP via Getty Images)Begum had three children with Riedijk, who all later died, before the couple split up. She claimed he was arrested for spying and tortured. In 2019, she was found by a British journalist in a refugee camp after IS lost the ground war in Syria, alerting the Government to the fact that she was still alive.
Begum's British citizenship was then stripped and she was banned from entering Britain following being deemed a threat to the nation. In a 2019 interview, Begum told the BBC she was drawn to the terror group's promise of a 'good life'.
When asked if the 'beheading videos' attracted her, she replied: "Not just the beheading videos, the videos that show families and stuff in the park. The good life that they can provide for you. Not just the fighting videos, but yeah the fighting videos as well I guess."
At the time, her mother urged the government to reconsider the decision to revoke her citizenship.
A letter to the Home Office from the family's lawyer - written on behalf of Asma Begum - asked the Home Office to do so as "an act of mercy" following the loss of her children.
Previously, her sister Renu Begum said the family made every "fathomable effort" to stop Shamima Begum from joining ISIS.
"That year we lost Shamima to a murderous and misogynistic cult," she told the Home Secretary in a letter.
"My sister has been in their thrall now for four years, and it is clear to me that her exploitation at their hands has fundamentally damaged her."
In 2020, the Court of Appeal permitted her to return to the UK to appeal her revoked citizenship. Then in 2021, the Supreme Court overturned this, finding national security fears outweighed the right to an effective hearing.
In 2021, Begum agreed to be photographed in a detention camp in Syria and was pictured with a drastically different look - head uncovered, in sunglasses and Western clothes. She denied her Westernised physical appearance, which was in stark contrast to her traditional Islamic style previously, was a publicity stunt.
ISIS jihadi student who wants to return to UK says he has 'right to come home'
"I have not been wearing hijab for maybe more than a year now. I took it off for myself, because I felt very constricted in the hijab, I felt like I was not myself," she said. "And I feel like it makes me happy, to not wear the hijab. I'm not doing it for anyone but myself. I've had many opportunities to let people take pictures of me without my hijab on, but I did not."
Begum photographed at Roj Camp in 2021 (Getty Images)In February 2023, she lost a challenge against the decision. Begum's lawyer said her battle was far from over and would be challenging the judgement. Their statement read: "Regrettably, this is a lost opportunity to put into reverse a profound mistake and a continuing injustice."
In March last year, the BBC tracked down Shamima's friend who first inspired her to quit the UK and join ISIS, Sharmeena Begum. She shammed her former pal as a "failed ISIS bride on benefits". She told the undercover reporter: "They're making her seem too jihadi when she was nothing. She didn't even have a suicide vest.
"She couldn't even speak Arabic, so how could she be religious police. The woman could barely speak around people who were European because she was socially awkward. She always stayed in her house, her husband didn't allow her to go out."
Then in October 2023, Begum appealed against the decision once more. Her legal team claimed the Home Office failed to consider the legal duties owed to Begum as a potential trafficking victim and called it 'unlawful'.
At the time, The Guardian reported that Begum was in Kurdish custody in north-east Syria and she regretted her decision to run away. The publication said she would "rather die than go back to IS" and would be willing to face terror charges in British court if necessary.
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