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Agence France-Presse

A British teenager who joined Islamic State in Syria said Wednesday that she was shocked by a government decision to revoke her citizenship and was considering applying to settle in the Netherlands, the homeland of her militant husband.
Shamima Begum, who travelled to Syria in 2015 and now wants to return to Britain after giving birth in a refugee camp in Syria last week, said the order was “unjust”.

“I am a bit shocked,” she told ITV News after learning of the move, which was announced in a letter Tuesday from the British government to her mother in London.
“It’s a bit upsetting and frustrating. I feel like it’s a bit unjust on me and my son.”
UK to strip citizenship from ‘jihadi bride’ teen who joined Islamic State
She said an “option” could be to apply for citizenship in the Netherlands, where her husband – the father of her newborn child and an IS fighter believed to be held by Kurdish forces in Syria – is from and has relatives.
“Maybe I can ask for citizenship in Holland,” Begum added. “If he gets sent back to prison in Holland I can just wait for him while he is in prison.”

Begum’s fate has stirred controversy since she and two friends fled her East London home to join the terror network four years ago when she was 15.
The case highlights a dilemma facing many European countries, divided over whether to allow jihadists and IS sympathisers home to face prosecution or bar them over security concerns as the so-called “caliphate” crumbles.
UK schoolgirl joined Islamic State. Now pregnant, she wants to go home
Britain’s Home Office said it did not discuss individual cases when asked about Begum.
Interior minister Sajid Javid told lawmakers Wednesday that revoking citizenship was “a powerful tool” not used lightly.
“But when someone turns their back on fundamental values and supports terror they don’t have an automatic right to return to the UK,” he said.
However Javid hinted that Begum’s newborn son could be treated differently.
“Children should not suffer, so if a parent does lose their British citizenship it does not affect the rights of their child,” the minister said.
Begum gave birth to her third child at the weekend, and appealed to British authorities to show “compassion” by allowing her to raise the baby in Britain – while expressing no regret over having joined IS.
In the ministry’s letter sent to Begum’s mother, it said the teen had the right to appeal the order.
Tasnime Akunjee, a lawyer for her family, said it was disappointed with the move and “considering all legal avenues to challenge this decision”.
Begum, who is of Bangladeshi heritage, was born in Britain, has never had a Bangladeshi passport and is not a dual citizen, according to Akunjee.
But the UK Home Office reportedly believes that she is entitled to claim citizenship in the South Asian country.
It was reported that she could be eligible for automatic citizenship in Bangladesh, where her mother is believed to have been born, but the foreign ministry in Dhaka rejected this.
“She is a British citizen by birth and has never applied for dual nationality with Bangladesh,” it said. “It may also be mentioned that she never visited Bangladesh in the past despite her parental lineage. So there is no question of her being allowed to enter into Bangladesh.”
Chiranjiv Sarker, head of the consular wing and dual nationality issues at Bangladesh’s foreign ministry, said it was aware of the case but had not received any contact from the family.
Begum is currently in a refugee camp in northeast Syria where she fled to escape fighting in the east of the country along with hundreds of other people with links to IS.
She said she had given birth to two other children after marrying in Syria. Both children are said to have died, apparently from illness and malnutrition.
British teen who joined IS gives birth in Syrian refugee camp
Begum fled Britain with Kadiza Sultana, who has since been reported killed, and Amira Abase.
Begum said in recent media interviews that Abase had stayed in a village where IS fighters were making a final stand against US-backed forces.
European countries have been grappling with what to do with foreign fighters detained in Syria by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who have warned they may not be able to guard their jails once US troops leave.
The British government on Monday rebuffed US President Donald Trump’s call for European allies to take back hundreds of alleged jihadists captured in the war-ravaged country.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman said the fighters should instead face justice in places where they committed their crimes.


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Islamic State

‘It’s unjust’: jihadi bride Shamima Begum who joined Islamic State as schoolgirl says she’s shocked by UK move to revoke citizenship

Shamima Begum is seen in a photo being held by her sister Renu Begum in 2015. The child in the photo is being deliberately obscured by Renu Begum. Photo: AFP

(FILES) In this file handout photo taken on February 17, 2015 a video grab taken from CCTV, received from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on February 23, 2015, shows Shamima Begum passing through security barriers at Gatwick Airport, south of London. - A British teenager who fled to join the Islamic State group in Syria is living in a refugee camp and wants to return home, The Times reported on February 14, 2019. Shamima Begum, now 19, expressed no regrets about fleeing her London life four years ago but said that two of her children had died and, pregnant with her third, she wanted to return. (Photo by HO / METROPOLITAN POLICE / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / METROPOLITAN POLICE" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

(FILES) In this file handout photo taken on February 17, 2015 a video grab taken from CCTV, received from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on February 23, 2015, shows shows (L-R) British teenagers Amira Abase, Kadiza Sultana and Shamima Begum at Gatwick Airport, south of London. - A British teenager who fled to join the Islamic State group in Syria is living in a refugee camp and wants to return home, The Times reported on February 14, 2019. Shamima Begum, now 19, expressed no regrets about fleeing her London life four years ago but said that two of her children had died and, pregnant with her third, she wanted to return. (Photo by HO / METROPOLITAN POLICE / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / METROPOLITAN POLICE" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Family of Islamic State ‘jihadi bride’ Shamima Begum prepares for legal battle as British government moves to strip teen of citizenship

Shamima Begum (left) in a photo held by her sister Renu Begum. Photo: Reuters

epa07369238 (FILE) - A handout photo made available by the London Metropolitan Police Service(MPS) on 20 February 2015 showing Shamima Begum one of three schoolgirls at Gatwick Airport, southern England, 17 February 2015 who have been reported missing and are believed to be making their way to Syria. Media reports on 14 February 2019 state that Shamima Begum, aged 19 who is in a refugee camp in Syria wants to return to Britain with her baby, her other two children both have died in the conflict. Shamima Begum said that one of her two school friends was killed in a bombing and the other's whereabouts is not known. EPA-EFE/LONDON METROPLITAN POLICE / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES *** Local Caption *** 51809500

epa07369268 (FILE) - A handout photo made available by the London Metropolitan Police Service(MPS) on 20 February 2015 showing Shamima Begum one of three schoolgirls at Gatwick Airport, southern England, 17 February 2015 who have been reported missing and are believed to be making their way to Syria. Media reports on 14 February 2019 state that Shamima Begum, aged 19 who is in a refugee camp in Syria wants to return to Britain with her baby, her other two children both have died in the conflict. Shamima Begum said that one of her two school friends was killed in a bombing and the other's whereabouts is not known. EPA-EFE/LONDON METROPLITAN POLICE / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES *** Local Caption *** 51809500

UK schoolgirl Shamima Begum ran away to join Islamic State in Syria as ‘jihadi bride’. Now pregnant, she wants to go back to Britain

(EDITORS NOTE: FACE IN PHOTO BEING HELD DELIBERATELY COVERED BY SISTER) Renu Begum, eldest sister of Shamima Begum, holds her sister's photo as she is interviewed by the media at New Scotland Yard in February 2015. (Laura Lean/WPA Pool/Getty Images/TNS)

A handout photo made available by the London Metropolitan Police shows Shamima Begum at Gatwick Airport on February 17, 2015, on her way to Syria. Photo: EPA

Shamima Begum, the British teen who joined Islamic State, gives birth to baby boy in Syrian refugee camp

Renu Begum, sister of teenage British girl Shamima Begum, holds a photo of her sister as she makes an appeal for her to return home. Photo: Reuters

This undated photo issued by the Metropolitan Police shows Shamima Begum. A pregnant British teenager who ran away from Britain to join Islamic State extremists in Syria four years ago has said she wants to come back to London, but her path home is not clear. Shamima Begum told The Times newspaper in a story published Thursday Feb. 14, 2019, that she wants to come back to London. (Metropolitan Police via AP)

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Shamima Begum says she will consider seeking citizenship in the Netherlands, the homeland of her imprisoned Islamic State husband
Begum, who ran away to Syria aged 15, gave birth to the militant’s son in a refugee camp last week


Shamima Begum says she will consider seeking citizenship in the Netherlands, the homeland of her imprisoned Islamic State husband. Begum, who ran away to Syria aged 15, gave birth to the militant’s son in a refugee camp last week.


Britain

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Islamic militancy

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