Shamima Begum, the Bethnal Green schoolgirl who became one of Britain's most notorious jihadi brides, could soon be free from the Syrian detention camp where she has been held since losing her British citizenship. Now aged 26, Begum remains in the al-Roj camp, described as "filthy" and "dangerous", but recent geopolitical shifts in Syria could alter her circumstances dramatically.
The Syrian Ceasefire and Potential Release
The Syrian government has announced a ceasefire with the Syrian Democratic Forces, taking almost full control of the country and dismantling the Kurdish-led forces that controlled the northeast for over a decade. This development raises the possibility that Begum, who fled the UK aged just 15 to join Islamic State, might soon be released from the camp where journalists recently observed her looking "pale" and "very thin" with "somewhat sunken eyes".
The Chilling Phone Call of a Schoolmate
Far less is known about Begum's two schoolmates, Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase, who were merely 16 and 15 respectively when they undertook the dangerous journey from London to Syria in February 2015. In a chilling telephone conversation with her UK-based sister, recorded by ITV News, Sultana voiced her wish to return home to Britain but confessed she was "scared".
Her sister Halima revealed immediately after the conversation: "She sounds very terrified. She did get very emotional there as well. I feel really helpless. What can I do? It's really hard. I don't think she's ever made a choice by herself. That was the first one and a very big one. I just look forward to the next call and that's what keeps me going."
The Grim Fate of the Schoolmates
Sultana, who had married an American ISIS combatant, is thought to have perished in a Russian air strike several weeks after that phone call in May 2016, though this has never been independently confirmed. The family's legal representative, Tasnime Akunjee, informed BBC Newsnight they'd been notified of her death in Raqqa.
Mr Akunjee explained: "I think she found out pretty quickly that the propaganda doesn't match up with the reality. The problem with that was the risk factors around leaving are quite terminal also, in that if ISIS were able to detect and capture you, then their punishment is quite brutal for trying to leave."
He continued: "In the week where she was thinking of these issues, a young Austrian girl had been caught trying to leave ISIS territory and was, by all reports, beaten to death publicly, so given that that was circulated in the region as well as outside - I think Kadiza took that as a bad omen and decided not to take the risk."
Years later, Begum spoke about losing her friend, saying: "Her house was bombed. Underground, there was secret stuff going on, and a spy had figured out that something was going on, and other people got killed as well. At first, I was in denial. I thought if we died, we'd die together."
The Third Schoolmate's Uncertain Fate
Amira Abase married ISIS fighter Abdullah Elmir, an 18-year-old Australian who became known as the Ginger Jihadi because of his red hair. He was killed in a drone strike in December 2015. Abase had been messaging her mother, Fetia Hussen, back in Britain through social media, but the contact suddenly stopped, leaving her mother fearing her daughter had died too. However, Begum has previously insisted Abase is still alive.
Begum's Legal Battles Continue
Begum married ISIS fighter and Dutch national Yago Riedijk when she was only 15 and had three children with him, all of whom later died. In 2019, she was deprived of her British citizenship on national security grounds, and in 2023, she lost her appeal to regain it. Despite exhausting all legal options when the Supreme Court rejected a final appeal bid in August 2024, Begum continues to harbour hopes of returning to the UK.
Her legal team is now attempting to present a case to the European Court of Human Rights, which has demanded answers from Britain over the move to strip her citizenship. In their ruling, justices determined the decision would rest with the court, noting it would need to establish whether the procedure ought to have taken into account that she might have been a victim of trafficking.
Government's Firm Stance
The issue of whether Begum will be allowed back to London was discussed again following political changes in Syria, but Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy has promised that Begum would never be permitted to return to the UK. During an appearance on ITV's Good Morning Britain, Mr Lammy stated: "Shamima Begum will not be coming back to the UK. It's gone right through the courts. She's not a UK national. We will not be bringing her back to the UK."
Mr Lammy went on to say that should these individuals return to the UK, some of them "would have to be, frankly, jailed as soon as they arrived". He emphasised that the Government would "always put British security interests first and the safeguarding of our population."
The Original Journey to Syria
The three teenagers made international headlines when CCTV images of them passing through security scanners at a London airport emerged during a desperate bid to stop them reaching their destination. Travelling unaccompanied, Begum wore a leopard print scarf, Abase sported a bright yellow hoodie, and Sultana was dressed in a grey checked scarf and jumper.
The trio were captured once more on CCTV footage at an Istanbul bus station in Turkey, dragging their weighty luggage through the snow whilst queuing for public transport. However, by the time authorities issued their public appeal, it was far too late - the teenagers had already slipped across the Syrian border and become brides to ISIS militants.
What exactly they did within the so-called caliphate remains uncertain. Begum maintains she simply kept house, whilst intelligence officials claim she helped stitch explosives into suicide vests. All three had been top-grade pupils at Bethnal Green Academy before their lives changed dramatically.
Current Camp Conditions and Controversy
In 2025, it was reported that Begum had been selling food parcels given to her by aid agencies in the detention camp to raise enough money for Western clothes and hair dye. Her legal representatives have argued that the UK has failed to step in and secure the return "of their citizens and their children" who have been "arbitrarily imprisoned".
They declared: "It is a matter of the gravest concern that British women and children have been arbitrarily imprisoned in a Syrian camp for five years, all detained indefinitely without any prospect of a trial. All other countries in the UK's position have intervened and achieved the return of their citizens and their children."
As the Syrian conflict continues to evolve and Begum's potential release looms, the chilling story of these three schoolfriends serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of radicalisation and the complex legal and moral questions surrounding their fate.
