Monday, September 22, 2025 - British ISIS recruit Shamima Begum abruptly ended her first face-to-face interview with reporters in years, leaving the session at the al-Roj detention camp in northern Syria.
Begum, 26, appeared pale and thin during the meeting at the
facility, which houses foreign women and children captured after the fall of
ISIS in 2019. She had previously fled the UK at age 15 to join the terrorist
group, becoming a child bride to a Dutch Islamic convert. All three of her
children later died in infancy.
The British government stripped Begum of her citizenship in 2019, rendering her stateless, and she has since sought to return to the UK to be with her family.
During the interview with the Daily Express, Begum
repeatedly refused to answer questions. When reporters referenced comments by
Nigel Farage and former US President Donald Trump regarding her potential
return to Britain, she responded with “No comment.” She then stood and
declared, “If you guys have anything to tell us but we don’t have anything to
say,” before leaving the room.
Begum was accompanied by American Hoda Muthana, another former ISIS bride, who similarly avoided the camera. The al-Roj camp currently holds around 2,000 detainees, including seven or eight women from the UK.
In recent years, Begum has participated in highly
controversial interviews, including a 2023 BBC feature, and has faced criticism
for her apparent lack of remorse over ISIS atrocities. She has consistently
maintained that she was a stay-at-home housewife while under ISIS, though some
reports claim she served in the group’s “morality police.”
The UK government has repeatedly denied her appeals to
restore her citizenship, citing security concerns and her association with
ISIS. Begum’s attempts to return continue to fuel intense debate over Britain’s
responsibilities toward foreign nationals who joined terrorist organizations.
0 Comments