Islamic State bride Shamima Begum could return to the United Kingdom as the government failed to consider whether she was trafficked to Syria. Photo / ITV
Islamic State bride Shamima Begum could return to the United Kingdom as the government failed to consider whether she was trafficked to Syria. Photo / ITV
Islamic State bride Shamima Begum could return to the United Kingdom after a major government oversight.
Begum's lawyer said the government failed to consider whether she was trafficked to Syria.
Her bid to come home is strengthened by the court case victory of a 6-year-old girl who successfully claimed she was a victim of modern slavery, The Sun reports.
The teen's case was the first time a terrorism prosecution has been thrown out due to a claim of sexual exploitation.
Jonathan Hall QC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, told The Sun it could path the way for other teen terror suspects to claim they've been groomed.
Islamic State bride Shamima Begum could return to the United Kingdom as the government failed to consider whether she was trafficked to Syria. Photo / ITV
He said: "Being both a victim of modern slavery and presenting a risk to the general public are not incompatible.
"If fewer criminal cases are going to be possible, this begs the question whether there are sufficient non-criminal justice measures in place, in particular to deal with the terrorist risk presented by children."
Begum's lawyer claims she has been attempting to argue this from the start and believes it strengthens her case dramatically.
She was just 15 years old when she fled the UK in 2015 to join Isis in Syria.
Begum was stripped of her British citizenship and has since been living in the al-Roj camp in Syria.
In 2021 she claimed she was groomed by older men she met on the internet and friends before fleeing the country.
Shamima Begum is stuck in a Syrian refugee camp. Photo / ITV
She claims to fear for her life after Isis fanatics firebombed her tent in a prison camp.
The now 22-year-old is the prime target for the group.
Begum has made repeated bids to return to Britain, claiming she was just a "dumb kid" when she joined Isis and "didn't want to be the friend that was left behind".
However, the Supreme Court ruled in February 2021 she was a public safety risk and was denied a return to the UK.
This could now be reversed after a teen accused of possessing a bomb-making video and instructions on how to make weapons successfully claimed she was a victim of modern slavery.
The teen had her case dropped after Home Office accepted she had been groomed and sexually exploited by extremists.
