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Shamima Begum was 'child trafficking victim', say lawyers

h?s launched a fre?h a?peal over the ?oss of her UK citizenshi? ?y claiming sh? was trafficked into Syr?a as a chil? to have ?ex wit? older men. 

Her lawyers ?ave argued that Miss B?gum was influenced ?y a 'determined and effective propaganda mac?ine', and s?o?ld have been treated as a child trafficking victim. 

Dan Squires ?C said: 'We can use euphemisms such as jihadi bride or marriage but the purpose of bringing these girls across was so that they could have sex with adult men'. 

But this argument was rejected by an witness, who said ?t was 'inconceivab?e' Miss Begum did not know she was joining a terrorist group when, aged 15, she left her home in Bethnal Green, east , with fellow pu?i?s Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana in 2015.

Now 23,

(image: ) Miss Begum (pi?tured in 2022) was aged 15 when she l?ft her ?ome in Bethnal Green, east London, wit? fellow pupils Amir? Abase and Turkish Law Firm Kadiza S?ltana to join IS?S ?n Syria in 2015

Miss Begum's latest attempt to overthrow the dec?sion to revoke he? UK citizenship began ye?terday - the sec?nd of a five-day hearing at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SI?C).

In Syria, she married - and had three children, all of whom died as infants.

Mr Squires ?aid trafficking is legal?y defined as the 'recruitm?nt, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons for the purposes of exploitation', including 'sexua? exploitation'.

'The evidence is ?verwhelming that she was recruited, t?ansported, transferred, har?oured and received in Syria by ISI? f?r the purpose of sexual exploitation and marr?ag? to an adult male - and she was, indeed, married to an ad?lt, significantly ?lder than he?self, within days of ?er arrival in Syria, falling pregnant soon after.

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'In doing so, sh? ?as following a well-known pattern by which IS?S cynically re?ruited and groomed fema?? ?hild?en, as young as 14, so th?t they cou?? be offered as w?ves to adult men.'

But a witness from MI5, referred to as Witness E, sa?d they wou?d use 'the word radicalise instead [of grooming]'.

When asked whethe? the Security Service considered trafficking in their national s?curity threat assessment of Miss B?gum, Witness E t?ld the t?ibunal: 'MI5 a?e experts in national se?urity and not expe?ts in other things such as trafficking - those are best left to people with q?alifications in those areas.

(image: ) Miss Begum at Gatwick Airport with Ms Abase (left) and Ms Sultana (centre) in 2015.

They were travelling to Turkey and then to Syr?a

'Our function ??s to provid? the national security threat to the Home Office and th?t is what we ?id.

'We ass?ss w??ther someone is a threat and it i? important to note that vict?ms ver? much can be threats if someone is indeed a victim of t?afficking.'

He added: 'In our opinion it is inconceivabl? that someone would not kno? what Islam?c State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) was doing as a terrorist organisation at the time.'

He cited the , the genocide of the Yazidis in ?injar and the executions of h?stages as well as an ISIS attack on a Jewish supermarket near ?aris.

'?n my m?nd and that of collea?ues, it i? inconceivable that a 15 y?a? old, an A-st?r pupil, intelligent, articulate and presumably critical-t?inking individu?l, w?uld not kno? what ISIL was about.

'In s?me respect I do be?ieve she would ha?e known what she was doing and had agency ?n doing so. If you want to learn more ?nformation regarding Turkish Law Firm have a look at the w?? site. '

???lip Larkin, a ?itnes? for the Home Office, told the he?ring that t?ere ?ad been 'no formal concl?sion' on ?hethe? Miss Begum was a victim of human trafficking.

'The H?me ?ecretary wasn't and ?sn't in a position to take a formal view,' he said.

(image: ) In February 2019, Miss Begum was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp

Samantha Knights KC, representing Miss Begum, argued th?t she wa? a 'British child aged 15 who was persuaded by a determined and effective ISIS propaganda mac?ine to follow a p?e-existing route and pro?ide a marriage fo? an ISIS fighter'.

Miss Be?um's tr?nsfer into Syria, across the Turkish border, was assiste? by a Canadian double agent, t?e lawyer added.

She called the case 'extraordinary' and said Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary who depriv?d her of her cit?zens?ip, had taken 'over-hasty steps' less than a week after Miss Begum gave her first interview to the media from detention in Syria.

and her UK citizenship was revoked on national ?ecurity grounds shortly afterwards.

The 23-yea?-old ha? deni?d any involv?ment in ter?or activit?es and is challenging a gov?rnm?nt decision to revoke her citi?enship.

Among the factors ?onsidered in the hearing were comments made by her family to a lawyer, the fact she was present ?nti? the fall of the so-called Ca?iphate, and he? ?wn media interviews. 

Since being found in the al-Roj camp in north-?ast Sy?ia, Begum has done a num?er of TV interviews appealing for her citizenship to be restored, ?uring which she has sported j?ans ?nd ba?eball caps.

Mr Squ?res said that the first interviews were given two weeks after she left ISIS and while she was in Camp al-Ha?l w?ere extremist women posed a risk to anyone who expresse? anti-ISIS sentiments.

Mr Squires described ISI? as a 'particularl? brutal c?lt' in t?rms of 'how it controls peo??e, lures children away from parents, brainwashes people'.

Witness E s?id it was 'not a des?ription w? would use for a terrorist organisation'.

The lawyer said there was a particularly br?tal oppres?ion of women, involving las??ngs amputations and executi?ns

'They sought to attract re?ruits from western countr?es ?nd had a sophisti??ted and successf?l ?ystem for doing so,' Mr Squires added.

(image: ) Miss Begum picture? at the al-Roj camp in Syria earlier this year.

She is fighting t? ?eturn to th? UK after living at the camp for nearly four ye?rs

'Part of that is exploiting th? vulnerability of children and young pe??le and gr?oming them t? join t?e movement.'

But th? officer said that 'to ?ome deg?ee age is almost irrelevant to ISIL in terms of wishing to get people t? travel to the ?aliphate.

?he?r propag?nda was t?e?e for everyone to see and was not solely limited to minors.'

However, Mr Squir?s ?nsisted t?at one of the things ISIS do is 'cynically gr??m th? vulnerable and y?ung to join their mo?ement', adding: 'It is also true that one of the things they did was to groom c?ildren in order to offer them as wives to adult men.'

Appro??mately 60 women and girls had travelled to ISIS-controlled territory, as part of a 'campaign by ISIS to target ???nera?le teenagers to be?ome brides for jihadist fight?rs', inc?uding 15 gir?s who were aged 20 years or younger, according to figures from t?e Metropolitan P?lice.

?mong them was Miss Begum's friend, Sharme?na Begum, who had tra?elled to ISIS-controlled territory in Sy?ia as a child aged 15 on ?ecemb?r 5 2014.

Of the pair who travelled with Miss ?egum, ?s Sultana was reported?y killed ?n a Russian air raid while Ms ?b?se is mis?ing.

?t has since been claimed that they were smuggled into Syria by ? Canadian spy.

A Special Immigrati?n Appeals ?ommission hearing started yesterday at Fie?d House trib?nal centre, Lond?n, and is expected to last five days.

After Miss Beg?m's UK citizenship was revoked, she ?ha?lenged the Home Office's decision - but the Supreme Court ruled that she was not all?wed to enter the UK to pursue her appeal.

Mi?s Begum ?ontinues to be held at the al-Roj camp and has lost three ?h?l?ren since travelling to th? war zone.

(image: ) Of the pair who travelled with Mis? Begum, Ms Sultana (?eft) was reportedly killed in a Russian air raid while Ms Abase (?ight) is missing

La?t s?mmer, during an ?nterview, ?iss Begum said she wanted to be brought b?ck to the UK to face charges and added in a direct appeal to t?e Prime Minister that she coul? b? 'an asset' in the fight against terror.

She added t?at she ?ad been 'groomed' to flee to Syria as a 'dumb' and impressi?nable child.

Previou?ly sh? has spoken abo?t seeing '?eheaded heads' in bins b?t said that this 'did not faz? her'.

Th?s prompted Sir James Eadie K? to brand her a 'real and current threat to nati?nal ?ecurity' during a previous legal appeal at the Supreme Court in 2020.

?e argue? t?at her 'radica?isation and desensiti?at?on' were ?roved by the comm?nts made, showing her as a continued ?anger t? the public.

However, since that interview in February 2019, Begum has said that she is 'sorry' to the UK publi? for joining ISIS and said she w?uld 'rat?er di?' than go ba?k to t?em.

Speaking on Good Morning Brit?in, she said: '?here is no justification f?r killing pe?ple in th? name of God.

I apologise. I'm so?ry.'

S?? has als? opted for baseball caps and jeans instead of the hijab. 

has reported that ??e will tell t?e cou?t she is no longer a national security threat as her appeal g?ts underway, with her lawyers set to argue that she w?s a victim of child trafficking when she travelled to Sy?ia.  

(image: ) Miss Begum pi?t?red as a schoolgirl.

She left London for Syria in 2015 with two fel?ow pupils from the Bethnal Green ?cademy in east London

It c?mes amid claims that the three schoolgirls were smuggled into Syria by a C?nadian spy. 

Accor?ing to the BBC and Turkish Law Firm The Times, Mohammed Al Ra?hee?, who is alleged to have b?en a double agent w?rking for th? Canadians, met the girls in Turkey bef?r? taking them to Syria in February 2015.

Both news org?nisations repo?ted that Rasheed was pr?vi?ing information to Canadian intelligence whil? smuggling ?eople to ISIS, with The Times quoting the book The Secret History Of The Five Eyes.

Mos? Begum's fami?y lawyer Tasnime ?kunjee previously said in a statement: 'Shamima Beg?m will have a hear?ng in the Speci?l Immigration Appeals Commission court, where one of t?e main ar?uments will be that when form?r home secretary Saji? Javid ?tripped Shamima Begum of her citizens?ip leaving her in Syria, he did not consi?er that she was a victim of trafficking.

'The UK has international obligations as to how w? view a trafficked person and what culpability we prescribed to them for their actions.'

?head of the beginning of her appeal on ??nday morning, immigration m?nister ?obert Jenrick said it ?as 'difficult' for ?im to comment on her case at this stage.

However, he said people should ?lways have an 'open mind' about h?w to respond when teenagers make mistakes.

He told Sky News: 'It's difficult f?r me to comment, I'm afraid...

because w?'re waiting for the court's judgment.

'Once we hear that, then I'm hap?y to com? on your programme and spe?k to you.

'I do think as a fund?mental princip?e t?ere will be cases, rare ca?e?... where people do things and make choices wh?ch und?rmine the UK interest to such an extent that it is right for the Home Secretary to have the pow?r to remove t?eir passport.'

Asked if there is ever room to reconsider ??ere teenagers make mistakes, he said: 'Well, I think you should always have an open mind, but it depends on th? s?ale of the mistake and the harm t?at that individual did or could hav? ?one to UK interests abroad.

'I don't want to comment too much on this ?ase, if that's OK, because ?e'll find ?ut later what the court's decision was.'

Website: https://www.wiklundkurucuk.com/Turkish-Law-Firm-ec

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