Shamima Begum, nicknamed the “ISIS bride,” is preparing to take her case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in a renewed effort to restore her British citizenship after losing her attempts before local courts.
The British Daily Mail newspaper reported on Thursday, August 8th, that her legal team will file an appeal against the British court decisions at the European court.
If this step does not succeed, Begum’s fate will remain largely unknown.
The 24-year-old “ISIS bride” resides in the al-Roj camp in al-Hasakah city, northeastern Syria.
According to the newspaper, if she fails to return to Britain, she will be “indefinitely detained” within the camp, which could remain open for another 20 years at current repatriation rates.
There are also concerns due to the unstable security conditions, which means “she could live in dangerous circumstances,” especially if the Syrian regime takes control of the area or if she faces the threat of being killed or disappearing.
According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the camp currently hosts 3,000 people, 65% of whom are children.
In February 2023, the British Court of Appeal rejected a legal challenge against previous British decisions to revoke her citizenship.
How she reached Syria
In August 2022, a BBC investigation revealed that Begum was smuggled into Syria by a Syrian intelligence agent who was working for Canada at the time.
Once she reached Syria, Begum married a Dutch Islamic State fighter, Yago Riedijk, who was about 23 years old.
She lived under the group’s rule for over three years, and in 2019, she was found by The Times newspaper, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp.
Subsequently, the British Home Office decided to strip her of her citizenship, citing her joining the group and marrying one of its members as the reasons.
In a BBC interview in September 2021, Begum stated that she would regret joining the group for the rest of her life and offered to help the UK in fighting terrorism.
Specialized research and studies estimated that the number of Europeans who joined the Islamic State group up until 2016 ranged between 3,900 and 4,300 individuals from countries including Britain, France, Germany, and Belgium.
According to a European Parliament report published in 2022, around 30% of them have returned to their home countries.
According to the human rights organization “Reprieve,” there are still up to 25 British families, including 36 children, in camps controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria, where relatives of suspected Islamic State group fighters are being held.