Inside story of ‘jihadi bride’ Shamima Begum’s appeal against losing her British citizenship
As she loses her bid to restore UK citizenship, Duncan Gardham revisits the controversial case of ‘jihadi bride’ Shamima Begum
Shamima Begum was the “jihadi bride” from East London who joined Isis at the age of 15 and was found in a refugee camp in Syria, where she begged to be allowed to return home.
Her discovery – with the words “I’m a Bethnal Green girl” – provoked headlines across the world and fevered speculation about what she had been doing for the past four years. Unnamed sources claimed she had been a member of a female Isis enforcement squad or had been sewing vests for suicide bombers.
Facts were harder to come by. Begum and her two school schoolfriends, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15, left Britain on a Turkish Airlines flight from Gatwick to Istanbul at 12.40pm on Tuesday 17 February 2015.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies