Shamima Begum

New documentary hears from the former Isis recruit herself, as well as those who knew her in London and Syria.

These days, she is more circumspect, presumably because she and her lawyers must realise that what tiny, vanishing chance she has of returning to the UK rests on an unforgiving public. For example, she claims to know nothing, not even the full name, of the mysterious wealthy Egyptian with the big house that she and her husband lived with for many months. But one of his staff asserts that the guy was an arms dealer, a major armourer for Isis, and testifies that it is simply not possible that Begum – who is evidently not stupid – had no idea what he was up to. It’s strange to think of a terrorist such as Riedijk being so gentle and puppy-like in his devotion to the (forced) love of his life. “Here,” she says, without hesitation, “because [Isis ](/topic/isis)was the worst thing in the 21st century and I was a part of it and now I have to face the consequences of my actions, and this camp is the consequences of my actions.” The skill in Josh Baker’s film is in allowing Begum to speak for herself, and setting that, quite dispassionately, against the testimony of others – childhood friends left behind in London, independent witnesses who knew her when she was an “Isis bride”, and bit of a surprise appearance in her (former?) husband, Yago Riedijk.

Begum has been the subject of a podcast, Sky documentary and newspaper interviews – but this iteration fails to provide us with anything new.

“They just wanted to continue the story,” she sighed. Begum’s story raises the important subject of why young people, born and raised in Britain, can feel so alienated from wider society that they are radicalised in this way; why living “a good Islamic life” in Syria, as she described it, would be preferable to life in east London. She now claims to feel shame and guilt, but it is impossible to gauge whether this is genuine. When Begum arrived in Syria, she was put in a house with 100 other women; their only way out was to be married off to an Isil fighter, for the purposes of breeding. She remains a mass of contradictions. “For the first time, she’s given her account of what happened over the last eight years,” we were told.

At the age of 15, Begum ran away from her family in London's Bethnal Green and travelled to Syria to join ISIS. She was stripped of her UK citizenship in 2019, ...

Shamima Begum gave birth to three children in Syria, all of whom died as infants. Begum has said that the camp is “worse than a prison” and her friends have said she fears being sentenced to death there. Shamima Begum remains at the al-Roj refugee camp in Syrian Kurdistan. Begum was born in 1999 to parents of Bangladeshi heritage and citizenship. The decision to withdraw UK citizenship left Begum effectively stateless. She was stripped of her UK citizenship in 2019, a decision which she is still appealing against.

BBC viewers were left divided on Tuesday night as Shamima Begum returned to screens to share her story nine years after she left the UK.

While Tim raged: "@BBC why the f**k is the BBC giving the dreadful Shamima Begum airtime?. Joan Anderson tweeted: "I am finished with this BBC tonight showing The Shamima Begum story! "@BBC The Shamima Begum story. Astounded the BBC are giving it airtime." "She knew what she was doing when she signed up for it!! She also shared her thoughts about what people think of her now, explaining she feels the population sees her as a "danger" and a "potential risk".

Shamima Begum left the UK for Syria to join ISIS in 2015, aged 15. Years later, she speaks to the BBC about her experiences living with a terrorist group.

Now aged 23, Begum is still waiting on a judgement to her appeal, and continues to live in the refugee camp run by Syrian Democratic Forces. The UK government argued that she has Bangladeshi citizenship through her parents, but this has been contested by the government of Bangladesh, so Begum is currently officially stateless. The documentary features Begum’s own account of what has happened to her since she left the UK for Syria. In interviews with the media Begum made conflicting statements, saying that she did not feel fazed by seeing the head of a man who had been beheaded because she believed he was an enemy of Islam. Begum had three children, all of whom died young - Riedijk is believed to be currently held by Kurdish forces in Syria. She will feature in a new feature-length [BBC](/topic/bbc) documentary, The Shamima Begum Story, where she speaks to an investigative journalist.

If you want to start an argument in a pub, mention Shamima Begum. The woman who was 15 when she left Bethnal Green to join Isis divides opinion sharply, ...

But even now when proclaiming “regret”, she has an unfortunate, smirky, evasive manner that does her no favours. The woman who was 15 when she left Bethnal Green to join Isis divides opinion sharply, most in my experience falling into the “she knew what she was doing, tough titty” camp, the rest saying “but she was groomed as a child”. This seems blindingly obvious for a person who joined an evil death cult and shrugged off seeing severed heads in bins.

'Why are the BBC giving Shamima Begum more airtime?': 'Sickened' viewers slam broadcaster for airing 90-minute documentary that 'parades ISIS bride as a ...

advising us on what to do and what not to do. I mean in a way I felt kind of relieved.' But it insisted her story would not be 'unchallenged', describing the podcast as a 'robust, public interest investigation'. She's a terrorist with no remorse, she doesn't deserve to have her story heard like she is a victim.' She said she was 'in love' with ISIS and desperate to join. Begum and her friends hid their luggage in advance and game-planned for scenarios such as being quizzed or caught out. 'We went to ISIS, that was it. Her two companions are believed to have died there That girl has zero remorse and I don't know why I have to see her on my TV? She had a choice - she made her choice. But here, you don't know if there's going to be an end.' At least with prison sentences you know there's going to be an end.