Shamima Begum’s chances of returning to UK boosted by Assad’s fall | United Kingdom | News

The lawyer for ISIS wife Shamima Begum says his client’s chances of returning to the UK have been “boosted” by the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Tasnime Akunjee told the Telegraph that if the camp in northern Syria where Begum is being held is closed, then she risks disappearing into the desert.

He told the outlet that the closure of Roj camp – Begum’s home for five years – would likely be a “relevant factor” at a future court hearing. “Watch this space,” he warned.

Mr Akunjee said: “Proportionality [argument] is reinforced [by the fall of Assad]. This gives weight to the impact the court’s decision had on her.”

Begum moved from Bethnal Green, east London, in 2015 with two other teenage girls. After flying to Turkey, she and the other teenagers crossed into Syria to join the Islamic State.

After marrying Yago Riedijk, a Dutch woman who converted to Islam when she was just 15, the British-born, jihadist-backed bride had three children, all of whom are believed to have died young.

The Johnson government revoked Begum’s British citizenship, leaving her de facto stateless and barred from returning to the UK. British intelligence services believe the 25-year-old poses a threat to national security.

For the past five years, Begum has been detained in the Roj camp in northern Syria, run by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led militia.

The FDS is expected to come under pressure to relinquish control of its camps, including Roj. Meanwhile, the United States under Donald Trump is expected to withdraw American funding from the Kurdish group, when he enters the White House as president.

With the security of the camps under threat, Dan Dolan, deputy executive director of the human rights charity Reprieve, said: “It is more urgent than ever to repatriate British families imprisoned without charge in the north-east of the Syria.

“This is a volatile situation where lives are at risk, and it is worth remembering that the majority of Britons in these open prisons are children under the age of ten and many are victims of trafficking.

“For years, the United States, other security allies and the Kurdish authorities themselves have urged the United Kingdom to repatriate its nationals. The UK Government is more than capable of dealing with this very small number of cases, and it is in the interests of justice, security and human rights to repatriate these families without delay. »