The Bethnal Green trio are Amira Abase, Shamima Begum, and Kadiza Sultana, three British girls who attended the Bethnal Green Academy in London before leaving home in February 2015 to join the Islamic State.[1] According to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, they were among an estimated 550 women and girls from Western countries who had travelled to join IS[2]—part of what some[3] have called "a jihadi, girl-power subculture",[4] the so-called Brides of ISIL. The events were adapted into the Swedish TV series Caliphate.

Background

Main entrance of Mulberry Academy Shoreditch, formerly known as Bethnal Green Academy

On 17 February 2015, Abase, Begum, and Sultana flew via Turkish Airlines from Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, England, to Istanbul, Turkey.[5] Their families went to Turkey in March to investigate their disappearance, deeming the police investigation inadequate.[5][6]

Their disappearance has been attributed to Aqsa Mahmood, a woman from Glasgow who joined ISIL in 2013. There were electronic communications between the girls and Mahmood.[5] Mahmood faces criminal charges if she returns.[7] Mahmood denies the allegations.[8]

In March 2015, footage was circulated of Abase Hussen, father of Amira Abase, at a 2012 rally led by Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary against the film Innocence of Muslims. The Metropolitan Police examined the footage but said that it was unlikely that offences had been committed.[9] Hussen said in April that he felt ashamed of his involvement in the rally, as he did not know who had organised it.[10]

The girls stole family jewellery to pay for their flights. Begum married Dutch Islamic convert and IS jihadi fighter Yago Riedijk just days after arriving in Raqqa.[11][12][13] They had three children who died from malnutrition and disease.[13]

At a 2015 Home Affairs Select Committee, then Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe stated that they would not face criminal charges if they returned to the United Kingdom.[14]

Aftermath

In the UK, the disappearance resulted in the Metropolitan Police giving evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee of the House of Commons on its circumstances in March 2015.[14] The families of the girls received an apology from Scotland Yard, who did not tell them about Sharmeena Begum (unrelated), the other girl from their school who went to Syria in 2014.[15]

British Prime Minister David Cameron said that individual institutions should not be made into "scapegoats" for the disappearance of the three girls.[16] Contrary to the stance of the Metropolitan Police, Cameron said, "Whoever has gone out to join a terrorist organisation is breaking the law and has to face the consequences of breaking the law and we have to let the law take its course in the proper way".[17]

In March 2015, a travel ban was imposed upon five girls from the Bethnal Green Academy due to concerns from social services that the girls attend the same school as the three who had already joined the group, stating that it was in the public interest.[18]

It was reported that the Bethnal Green Trio were married to foreign jihadists, and that they then moved into the homes of their new husbands in ISIL's de facto capital of Raqqa.[19]

Sultana was said to have married an American ISIL fighter with Somali heritage, but wanted to return to the UK after he was killed in battle. Shortly afterwards, she was killed in a Russian airstrike.[20] Her family said in a phone interview with ITV in August 2016 that they believed she died in an airstrike in May 2016 at the age of 17 while planning to escape.[21][22] The lawyer who represents the family of the teenagers, Tasnime Akunjee, told ITV that she became too scared of making an escape attempt after another girl, Samra Kesinovic, was beaten to death for trying to escape.[23]

Abase married an 18-year-old Australian jihadist, Abdullah Elmir, in July 2016 who was reported by Australian intelligence agencies to have been killed in coalition airstrikes. The current fate or whereabouts of Abase are unknown.

Shamima Begum married a Dutch jihadist recruit, Yago Riedijk.[24] They had three children, all now dead.[12]

In February 2019, The Times journalist Anthony Loyd found Begum in a Syrian refugee camp. During the interview, Begum said the last time she saw her husband was when they fled the village of Baghuz, Isis' final stronghold, at the beginning of February that year. He was later reported to have surrendered to fighters allied with the Syrian Democratic Forces. She also revealed that she was pregnant and hoped to return to the UK to raise her child but did not regret her decision to join ISIL. In the debate that followed, the UK Home Office announced it would revoke her UK citizenship, while Bangladesh did not recognize her as a citizen.[25][26]

As of 11 November 2022, Begum was being held in a detention camp in the northeastern part of Syria near her imprisoned husband.[24] Samantha Knights KC, the lawyer for Begum, stated Begum was a victim of sex trafficking lured by Islamic State propaganda. Sir James Eadie KC of the Home Office stated Begum is a threat to national security with an MI5 agent reporting it was inconceivable that Begum did not know ISIL was a terrorist organization due to the number of terror attacks and public beheadings being posted in the news at the time they left Britain.[24]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Defence Correspondent, Lucy Fisher (13 February 2019). "Bethnal Green trio fled Britain with help from Isis's best female recruiter". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  2. ↑ Saltman, Erin Marie; Smith, Melanie (2015). 'Till Martyrdom Do Us Part' Gender and the ISIS Phenomenon (PDF). Institute for Strategic Dialogue. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  3. ↑ Thomas Hegghammer, an expert on Islamist militancy affiliated with the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (source: GILSINAN, KATHY (25 July 2014). "The ISIS Crackdown on Women, by Women". The Atlantic. Retrieved 25 February 2016.)
  4. ↑ GILSINAN, KATHY (25 July 2014). "The ISIS Crackdown on Women, by Women". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "Syria girls: Families 'cannot stop crying'". BBC News. 22 February 2015. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Isil defector girls' families go to Turkey to probe disappearance". The Daily Telegraph. 23 March 2015. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Scots jihadi will be prosecuted if she comes home, say police". stv.tv. 10 March 2015. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  8. ↑ Cook, James (16 March 2015). "Glasgow 'jihadist' Aqsa Mahmood denies recruiting London girls". BBC News. Archived from the original on 29 October 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Morgan, Ben (27 March 2015). "Jihadi schoolgirl's father marched at flag-burning rally". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "Father of schoolgirl feared to have joined Islamic State denies 'extremism' claim". ITV News. 7 April 2015. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  11. ↑ "UK Supreme Court Will Hear 'ISIS Bride' Case". Agence France-Presse. 31 July 2020.
  12. 1 2 Shields, Bevan (16 July 2020). "IS bride can return to Britain to appeal citizenship loss, court rules". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  13. 1 2 "Shamima Begum: latest news and where is she now?". 29 September 2019.
  14. 1 2 Barrett, David (10 March 2015). "Three 'Jihadi brides' from London who travelled to Syria will not face terrorism charges if they return". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  15. ↑ Morris, Nigel (12 March 2015). "Police sorry for failure to warn families of Isis girls about schoolfriend's flight". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  16. ↑ "Leaders: Vigilance crucial or more will be lost to IS". The Scotsman. 10 March 2015. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  17. ↑ Beake, Nick (31 March 2015). "David Cameron concerned over Syria-bound London girls". BBC News. Archived from the original on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  18. ↑ Bowcott, Owen (27 March 2015). "Travel ban for five east London girls over fears they will join Isis in Syria". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  19. ↑ "Families fear Bethnal Green schoolgirls who travelled to join Isis are now dead". OPride.com. 4 December 2017. Archived from the original on 30 December 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  20. ↑ De Peyer, Robin (6 August 2017). "Families fear Bethnal Green schoolgirls who travelled to join Isis are now dead". London Evening Standard. London. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  21. ↑ Henley, Jon; Dodd, Vikram (12 August 2016). "Kadiza Sultana: London schoolgirl who joined Isis believed killed in Syria airstrike". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  22. ↑ Veselinovic, Milena; McKenzie, Sheena (14 August 2016). "Family fears British girl who went to Syria is dead". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  23. ↑ Dearden, Lizzie (14 August 2016). "Isis jihadi bride Kadiza Sultana 'abandoned efforts to escape Syria after Austrian girl beaten to death'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  24. 1 2 3 "Jihadi bride showed 'no remorse' and is still a 'national security risk'". MSN. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  25. ↑ "Shamima Begum will not be allowed here, Bangladesh says". BBC. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  26. ↑ Charlton, Corey (20 February 2019). "Shamima Begum discovers citizenship has been revoked". News.com.au. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
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