Shamima Begum: Syrian Kurds demand UK repatriates British teenager and other Isis members

Exclusive: ‘We cannot bear this responsibility alone,’ official says as government refuses to repatriate jihadis

Kurdish officials have demanded the UK fulfils its “moral and legal duty” to repatriate Shamima Begum and other British Isis members detained in Syria.

Abdel Karim Omar, a Kurdish foreign affairs official, told The Independent that thousands of detained Isis fighters, women and children are a “big burden”.

“They belong to 49 countries, and they don’t have documents and passports,” he added.

“We cannot bear this responsibility alone. We ask the international community and the countries to which Isis members belong to take up its moral and legal duty and repatriate their citizens back to their countries.”

The government said it will not assist Ms Begum to leave Syria, and Sajid Javid has suggested the UK may seek to legally block her return.

Mr Omar confirmed Ms Begum will not be able to leave the camp where she is being held unless through official repatriation.

The 19-year-old said she is pregnant and wants to return to the UK, but does not regret joining Isis with three friends from Bethnal Green Academy when she was just 15.

Ben Wallace, the security minister, said although she has the legal right to return as a British citizen, she would have to journey to Turkey or Iraq for any assistance.

“I’m not putting at risk British people’s lives to go and look for terrorists or former terrorists in a failed state… actions have consequences,” he added.

Mr Javid later suggested the government could seek to block Ms Begum’s return legally, telling The Times: “My message is clear – if you have supported terrorist organisations abroad, I will not hesitate to prevent your return. If you do manage to return, you should be ready to be questioned, investigated and potentially prosecuted.”

Ms Begum is among 20 British women and children caught leaving the caliphate who are being held in camps by the Syrian Democratic Forces, along with six suspected fighters, The Independent understands.

Amira Abase, Kadiza Sultana and Shamima Begum before catching a flight to Turkey in 2015 (Metropolitan Police / PA) (Met Police/PA)

She is being held alongside other women and children, in the al-Hawl camp in northeastern Syria, who have fled fighting in Isis’s last territories.

The camp is run by the self-declared Democratic Federation of Northern Syria and guarded by soldiers from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who have been backed by the US-led coalition to drive Isis out of its former strongholds.

The SDF also operates detention centres for male Isis fighters, including captured foreign nationals such as the German and Irish men interviewed by The Independent.

So far, only the US and France have said they will repatriate citizens suspected of Isis membership.

The British government has been seeking to block the return of anyone considered a security threat by removing British citizenship from dual nationals and obtaining exclusion orders.

It has proven difficult to prosecute hundreds of people who have already returned to the UK from Isis territories, and it remains unclear what charge could be used against Ms Begum.

Diane Abbott MP, the shadow home secretary, said Labour does not support making people stateless.

“If there are reasonable grounds to suspect that anyone who is entitled to return to this country either committed or facilitated acts of terrorism, they should be fully investigated and where appropriate prosecuted,” she added. “Our priority must always be public safety.”

Maya Foa, director of the legal charity Reprieve, said British nationals must be repatriated to face fair trial.

“All other options involve torture and the death penalty, which directly contradict longheld British values,” she added.

“The UK can’t outsource British justice to the murderous regime of Bashar al-Assad, the death rows of Iraq or the legal black hole that is Guantanamo Bay.”