British jihadist Shamima Begum could soon be offered citizenship by an island in the Indian ocean. The 26-year-old, who left the UK in 2015 at the age of 15 to join ISIS, was stripped of her British citizenship by former Home Secretary Sajid Javid and is currently being held at the al-Roj camp in Syria.
Now an Indian island nation is planning to offer her citizenship AfroSaxonVoice can exclusively reveal. A government source from the island we are not naming said that they are willing to offer Ms Begum, who was born in East London to Bangladeshi parents the right of abode in their small country.
Speaking exclusively To AfroSaxonVoice from the island’s capital the official who asked to remain anonymous said: ” Shamima was very young when she left the UK. She was misguided and fell in with the wrong crowd. She most likely did not know what she was doing and did not think about the consequences of her actions in the long run.”
Ms Begum who have been living in Syria for 10 years could soon be free from her detention camp as violent clashes in the northeast of the country continue.
The Syrian government has announced a ceasefire with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), taking almost full control of the country and dismantling the Kurdish-led forces which controlled the north east for more than a decade. The agreement comes as tensions between government forces and the SDF boiled over earlier this month, eventually resulting in a major push towards the east.
Begum, who is appealing the UK home office’s decision to strip her of her citizenship has taken her case to the European Court of Human Rights, which is demanding answers from Britain over the move.
The Indian Ocean island official said that his government have been monitoring Begum’s case closely and will be willing to talk to her representatives about her becoming a citizen of the small country.
“We have been following and looking into this and have explored every avenue which could make things a bit better for this young lady who was born and raised in the West before she fled to a war zone. She should not be in limbo right now. She is British and has a right to go back to the UK.
“This cannot be easy for her and her family and they should be afforded all the help there is out there. She made a mistake and should be given a second chance. It is as simple as that. Why do they have to keep punishing her.”
The island nation which is a former British colony and does not operate a visa free regime with the UK have given asylum to lots of people including West Asians who became stateless. It’s citizens require visas to travel to the UK, unlike a couple of islands nearby whose citizens can travel visa-free.
Begum left the country in her mid-teens and was stripped of her citizenship in February 2019 on the grounds of posing a threat to national security after being “married off” to an IS fighter.
A document published by the European court in December last year states Begum is challenging the decision under Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights – prohibition of slavery and forced labour.
The case was lodged in December 2024 after she was denied the chance to challenge the removal of her British citizenship at the UK’s Supreme Court.
The Official said that it is up to Begum and her people to get in touch to discuss the matter as they are going to communicate will all parties concerned about this.
“This young lady has suffered enough already. She needs to get on with her life and to return back to some semblance of normality. We will communicate with the powers that be to offer our help to her” He adds. ” She needs to get out of where she is and if it means that we can assist her to do that then we will do just that.”
I hope they do.
This girl has been through a lot and needs to be helped