Will Shamima Begum Return To UK? Story Of Teen Who Joined ISIS, Became Child Bride, Now Wants To Come Home

A new report by the Independent Commission on UK Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice has reignited debate over the fate of Shamima Begum and other British nationals detained in Syrian camps. The commission warned that the current policy of leaving such individuals in legal limbo is “unsustainable,” and risks turning the detention sites into “Britain’s Guantanamo.” 

Shamima Begum’s story has become one of the most divisive in Britain’s recent history. Born in 1999 in Bethnal Green, east London, to Bangladeshi parents, Begum was only 15 when she and two school friends, Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase, left the UK in 2015 to join the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria.

Soon after arriving, she married a Dutch ISIS fighter, YagoRiedijk, and gave birth to three children, all of whom tragically died in infancy. Begum lived under ISIS rule for several years until the group’s collapse, when she was found in a detention camp in northern Syria in 2019.

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Citizenship Revoked And Legal Battles

Following her discovery, then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid stripped Begum of her British citizenship, citing national security concerns. The decision sparked intense public debate about security, justice, and human rights.

Begum has since lost multiple appeals to regain her citizenship. In 2021, the UK Supreme Court upheld the government’s decision, ruling that she could not return to Britain to pursue her case in person. She currently remains in the Al Roj refugee camp in northeastern Syria, one of the most closely watched detainees held there.

Repatriation Debate Rekindled

The recent commission report urged the government to rethink its approach. It argued that many detainees, including Begum, were minors at the time they traveled to Syria and may have been victims of trafficking or coercion.

“The government should facilitate voluntary repatriation for British nationals, including those deprived of British nationality,” the report stated, calling for a “coherent, humane, and security-conscious repatriation strategy.” 

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Public opinion in the UK remains deeply divided. Supporters of Begum argue that she was groomed and exploited as a teenager and deserves rehabilitation. Critics insist that her choices, joining ISIS and remaining with the group, make her a threat who should never return.