Shamima Begum was an innocent schoolgirl, aged 15, when she voluntarily left the comfort of her home in Bethnal Green and travelled to Syria. She is no longer that innocent schoolgirl, she has at the very least provided succour to the enemies of this country. In her Times interview, she shows a depraved indifference to the suffering meted out by her Islamist colleagues.
Should we take her back? We should. This is not weakness this is Britain standing strong from a security and a moral perspective. Begum, and any other returning foreign fighters, should not be disavowed, but should be put through our justice system. They are our problem and we need to own it.
She, herself, has proclaimed that she is no longer the same person she was four years ago. Her age at departure is no mitigating factor now, given her apparent lack of remorse. She seems to have fallen out with the cause and believes “they do not deserve victory” – a trend that many supporters have expressed when they have returned to European countries. We need to exploit this doubt and turn it to our advantage. It’s a new weapon in this war of ideas.
Security Minister Ben Wallace has stated that anyone who travels to Syria is putting themselves in considerable danger. This was known to all who travelled, and it seems clear that as the Begum reached adulthood she was more than content to stay as an associate to the Caliphate and mother children for its cause. Let’s not forget that anyone returning from taking part in the conflict in Syria, or having joined ISIS, has put the UK at risk. People who act against us in this way are complicit in undermining our national security. They should not be allowed to fade into the next manifestation of the Caliphate. They must be brought to justice here.
Begum wants to return to ensure the safety of her unborn child. No British child should be punished for the deeds of their parent, and this child has as much right to a chance of a normal British life as any other.
Begum should be allowed back into the UK but she must also be held accountable for her actions. This includes making a decision on her fitness to look after her unborn child, assessed by professionals. Begum’s extremist views, and the fact she recently moved to live in a warzone of her own free will, would certainly be taken into account.
The human grounds for allowing this pregnant mother to return with her child are clear. The security grounds for bringing to full force of British justice to bear on Shamima Begum are also clear.
Begum should be returned to the UK and subject to our laws not just because she chooses to for the sake of her unborn child but because it is the right security response for us. She will pose a greater level of risk if she remains free than if she is returned to UK to face justice.
Away from the eyes and influence of Britain, Begum would remain free to spread the message of ISIS and provide support to violent extremists. We can be sure, with she and her child turned away, that her focus would be on the UK, potentially driven by revenge. It’s not a smart move to give the hateful ideologues who have groomed and manipulated her what they want. The understandable feel good response of ‘let her rot’ might make good headlines but that won’t make us any safer.
There shouldn’t be any doubt about that if convicted, Begum ought to spend time in prison and be subject to a very long period of strict supervision in the community after release. In my independent government review of Islamist extremism in the UK custody and probation system back in 2016, recommendations were made to prevent further radicalisation in British prisons.
Without going into too much detail, what needed to happen was for the British state to send the clear message to those intent on spreading the ISIS message in custody: “Our values are stronger than yours.” This not only needs to happen with people behind bars, it needs to happen across the board.
The example of Shamima Begum demonstrates that. The UK faces an unknown number of returning, combat-experienced Britons out of the estimated 800 who the security service said went to join ISIS. Hundreds of British jihadis have returned to the UK and remain free to roam our streets, to radicalise and spread propaganda on behalf of their adopted group. While the majority will have seen the folly of joining the now disintegrating Caliphate, we must assume others will still be intent on causing us harm.
Repatriating Begum is a powerful way of distinguishing us from the murderous brutality of the organisation she joined at such a young age. Creating an integrated process that balances justice for crimes committed with the possibility of redemption is not a soft option. It demonstrates the power and the superiority of our own civilised values and deprives terrorists of a new ‘martyr.’
Bringing her to justice in the UK allows the possibility for her to be rehabilitated after serving time for any crimes she is guilty of. The right thing here is the difficult thing. It is much more naive to simply say she can’t be reformed, refuse her right to return, and believe we will be safer as a result. We won’t be.
Begum was found in a refugee camp, probably within the reach of Jihadist fighters and colleagues of her husband. We can’t take what she says at face value. Rehabilitation depends on addressing what drove her to go to Syria in the first place.
Her behaviour suggests that mental health interventions might work. We can’t know until we get her back. Given the level of indoctrination she displays, rehabilitation is likely to involve longterm supervision and therapy to break down the thinking that attracted her to violent extremism. We also have a golden opportunity to debrief her and add to our understanding of the grooming process that transformed her from a 15 year old schoolgirl to an extremist sympathiser. We might even pick up some intelligence about remaining British jihadis she associated with in Syria and their movements. In this game, the more you know about what drives the conversion process, the better you can be at stopping it in its tracks.
People do not understand – or will not conceive – the value of a repentant terrorist or supporter to society. It’s the one thing IS violent extremists fear the most – a stick in the spokes of their jihadist propaganda. Terrorists hate reformed extremists because they understand why young people are radicalised and can convince vulnerable young people that it is the wrong path to take. A long shot with Begum, maybe, but the potential gain is worth the risk.
To counter the threat ISIS and other extremist groups pose, we need to be as sophisticated as they are. If, back in the UK and free from the malign pressures of her current situation, she rejects her hateful ideology, this can be used to persuade other young women to follow her example.
There is no risk-free option, but pursuing justice and reform is worth the risk it carries. It is a much better option than just closing our door, closing our eyes and failing to uphold the very values that separate us from those who wish to bring us down.
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