[ad_1]
Britain’s treatment of Shamima Begum is a “shameful indictment of our national conscience,” said Olympic sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor.
Mrs. Begum She was 15 when she and two other schoolgirls from east London traveled to Syria to join the Islamic State in 2015.
Last month, the UK High Court ruled that she cannot return to the UK to file an appeal against the removal of her British citizenship.
Sir Anish Kapoor says Shamima Begum would be treated like a victim if she were white
In a co-authored statement by Ms. Begum’s family attorney, Sir Anish said: “Imagine for a moment that four young white schoolgirls from Wiltshire were tempted to go to Syria and join the Islamic State.”
“Would they be seen as terrorists or victims of terrorists?
“We have no doubt that we would demand that they spare no expense and not miss a moment to return to the safety of their homes in England.”
Her British citizenship was revoked shortly after she was found in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019, and at the time she was nine months pregnant.
She later revealed that she had married the Dutch convert Yago Riedijk, 10 days after arriving on the territory of the Islamic State.
In 2019, she told The Times that her children, a one-year-old girl and a three-month-old boy, had since died. Their third son died in the al Roj camp shortly after his birth.
Mrs Begum was one of three schoolgirls from East London who traveled to the war-torn country.
Sir Anish said that “the fact that Shamima wants to return to the UK shows that she is willing to face the law here for her past mistakes.”
He added: “Shamima is a British citizen and has the right to be tried in British courts by a jury of her peers for any crime she has committed.”
The artist’s comments came as The Daily Telegraph published exclusive images of Ms Begum, now 21, inside the Al Roj camp.
While she had previously been photographed in a niqab, the images showed Ms. Begum with straightened hair, wearing sunglasses, a T-shirt and a hoodie.
According to the newspaper, she agreed to be photographed but refused to be interviewed because she received legal advice.
Speaking to Sky News at the press preview, Gal-Dem’s policy editor Moya Lothian-McLean said stripping Begum of her British citizenship set “a dangerous precedent” and said the newly emerged images “show their despair. “
The journalist added: “We cannot allow the feeling of a heinous crime to get in the way of the legal right to citizenship.”
[ad_2]
