QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Shamima Begum, the infamous “ISIS bride” whom the UK’s top courts refused to repatriate, is “very upset and disappointed,” according to her friends in the camp in which she is being held in northern Syria.
Begum was 15 years old when she left the UK in 2015 with two schoolmates in order to join ISIS in Syria. She was stripped of her British citizenship by then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid on February 19, 2019 upon being discovered in a northern Syrian refugee camp during the battle to liberate the last stronghold of ISIS in Syria by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
North Press headed to the camp in which she is being held less than 24 hours after the courts’ decision to deny Begum’s appeal for citizenship. The camp’s administration explained that Begum was not in her tent and has refused to speak to any media outlets which have attempted to contact her after the court decision.
Nawel (who refused to give her surname), who is from Holland and a close friend of Begum, made clear that “the court decision was not fair” to her friend and added, “Shamima was very upset and disappointed, and is hoping for another chance to return to the UK and face a fair trial.”
The decision to revoke Begum’s citizenship has come under fire from human rights campaigners and legal experts alike, who argue that the revocation has rendered her stateless and compromised her right to a fair appeal.
Begum is one of hundreds of ISIS women who live in Roj Camp since the collapse of ISIS in Syria. The majority of these women have been refused repatriation by their home governments.