Now Bangladesh says jihadi bride is not allowed in
‘I feel like it’s a bit unjust’
‘There must be consequences’
BANGLADESH has refused to give Islamic State bride Shamima Begum sanctuary – a move which causes a diplomatic headache for the UK.
The 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid on the basis that she is automatically entitled to live in Bangladesh because her parents were born there.
But the Bangladeshi government said she does not hold dual citizenship and there is ‘no question of her being allowed to enter’ the country.
The firm refusal to accept Begum is a headache for Britain’s Home Office because international law forbids nations from making people stateless by revoking their only citizenship.
Lawyers said she could use her newborn baby to get back to the UK on human rights grounds because of her responsibilities to the child.
Begum gave birth in a Syrian refugee camp two days before Mr Javid revoked her citizenship.
It means that her son Jerah – apparently named after a 7th century Islamic warlord – is British and has every right to travel to the UK. Mr Javid hinted in the House of Commons that her baby’s British citizenship would not be affected.
Begum, who fled her home in Bethnal Green, east London, at 15 to join Isis in 2015, begged to return following the fall of the caliphate. Her hopes were dashed when Mr Javid removed her British citizenship, saying she was Bangladeshi because of her parents’ heritage. But last night Bangladesh foreign affairs minister Shahrial Alam said: ‘The government of Bangladesh is deeply concerned that [Begum] has been erroneously identified as a holder of dual citizenship.
‘She is a British citizen by birth and never applied for dual nationality with Bangladesh.’
The UK Home Office revoked Begum’s citizenship on Tuesday without telling her, instead sending a letter to her mother Asma. She was told about the decision while caring for her son in the refugee camp yesterday.
She told the BBC: ‘I wasn’t born in Bangladesh, I’ve never seen Bangladesh and I don’t even speak Bengali properly.
‘I have one citizenship... and if you take that away from me, I don’t have anything. This is a life-changing decision and they haven’t even spoken to me.’
Faced with the prospect of being banned from Britain, she finally admitted making ‘a very big mistake’ by joining Isis.
In a separate interview, she said Mr Javid’s decision was ‘upsetting and frustrating’. ‘I feel like it’s a bit unjust on me and my son,’ she told ITV News. ‘It’s kind of heart-breaking to read. My family made it sound like it would be a lot easier for me to come back to the UK when I was speaking to them. It’s kind of hard to swallow.’
Begum made a direct plea to Mr Javid to review her case and asked him to ‘have a bit more sympathy and understanding’.
She said: ‘I heard other [jihadi brides and fighters] are being sent back to Britain so I don’t know why my case is any different, or is it just because I was on the news four years ago?’
Asked if she had a message for her family, Begum said: ‘I want to apologise a lot for what I’ve put them through but right now I really need their help to bring me back.’
The teenager said she had ignored their pleas to go home because she thought she ‘was doing the right thing’ by being a part of Isis. Claiming escape was impossible, she said: ‘They’d kill you if you tried.’
Asif Salam, a London immigration lawyer, suggested she could be allowed to return to the UK because of the human rights of her baby boy, adding: ‘It’s not in the child’s best interest to be in the UK without the mother.’ Mark Stephens, a human rights lawyer at Howard Kennedy, added: ‘The sins of the mother can’t be visited on the child. It may be that he is brought back to live with relatives or is put into care.’
Mr Javid defended his decision to revoke her citizenship. ‘We must put the security of our country first,’ he said. ‘There must be consequences for those that back terror.’
Begum has suggested she could apply for citizenship in Holland because her jihadi husband is Dutch. However, the authorities there are almost certain to take a dim view of such a prospect – and they may not recognise her marriage.
The man she calls her husband Yago Riedijk, 27, was jailed for six years in his absence last July for joining Isis. His whereabouts are unknown after he surrendered to a Syrian rebel group. They married in an Islamic ceremony shortly after arriving in Syria.