Shamima Begum, the 19-year-old who left east London in 2015 to join the Islamic State group, has said she wants to return to the UK for the sake of her unborn child. In an interview with The Times from a refugee camp in Syria, she expressed no regrets about her decision but described feeling shocked by the 'oppression' within the so-called caliphate.
Ms Begum, who is nine months pregnant, said she had lost two children and that one of her two school friends who left with her, Kadiza Sultana, died in a bombing. The fate of the third girl, Amira Abase, remains unclear. The trio, all pupils at Bethnal Green Academy, flew to Turkey in February 2015 before crossing into Syria.
She told The Times that life in Raqqa, the former IS stronghold, was 'normal' apart from occasional bombs, and that seeing a severed head in a bin 'didn't faze me at all'. She married a 27-year-old Dutch convert to Islam ten days after arriving. The couple recently escaped from Baghuz, and her husband surrendered to Syrian fighters.
Ms Begum said she no longer believes the caliphate deserves victory due to 'oppression and corruption'. While she wants to return to Britain, legal experts note she is now an adult and unrepentant, potentially facing charges of membership of a terrorist group or encouraging terrorism. The government could also ban her temporarily pending investigation.
