Shamima Begum ‘plots return to Britain using people smugglers’: Texts from ISIS bride’s ‘fixer’ ‘beg for cash so she can flee Syria and force deportation to UK’

ISIS bride Shamima Begum is reportedly attempting to return to the UK using human smugglers, according to messages from her camp.

Begum, who was stripped of her British citizenship after leaving London to join the terror group in 2015, is currently being held in Al Roj, a filthy and violent camp in north-east Syria.

The 26-year-old, from Bethnal Green, east London, who was 15 when he went into ISIS territory, has made numerous legal bids to return to the UK but all have failed.

It has now been claimed that a plot is afoot to secretly take him back to England through people smugglers.

The bold plan comes after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) questioned the UK’s decision to revoke Begum’s citizenship and called on the Government to consider whether she was a victim of human trafficking.

Filmmaker Andrew Drury, who interviewed Begum six times in al-Roj, revealed that he was contacted from inside the camp by an American former jihadist who wanted to escape with Begum.

Mr. Drury, 60, received several messages from Begum’s best friend in the camp, Hoda Muthana, an American woman who lost her citizenship after joining ISIS.

Posing as Begum’s handyman, Hoda begged Mr Drury for thousands of US dollars using the code word ‘gums’ and British pounds using the term ‘mints’.

They appear to be planning to cross the border into nearby Türkiye to ‘reach our embassies’ and believe that Britain will be forced to take Begum back ‘once Turkey deports her’.

Begum still lives in the Roj camp in northern Syria (pictured in 2021)

In the messages he sees ExpressHoda writes: ‘Bring five thousand gummy bears, American brand, is better. S (Shamima) also likes the same amount of mint candy, but you better come and give it to her so that half the bag is not taken.’

When Mr Drury told Hoda ‘the UK won’t give her back’ the ISIS bride replied: ‘They will eventually when Türkiye deports her, which they are doing.’

Both former jihadist brides admit they plan to be interviewed, and Hoda adds: ‘SB (Shamima Begum) has already promised some channels that they will be the first to interview her outside the camp and in the UK when she is eventually repatriated.’

However, when asked who the channels might be, Hoda claimed that Begum had not signed on with anyone yet and had ‘people in mind who she thought would create a fair story.’

In other messages, Hoda tells Mr Drury: ‘Imagine it as an investment.’

He adds: ‘We’re finally getting out of here and starting our process. We don’t want to hide or run away. We just want to go to our embassies. And you will be the first to know and see it.’

Mr Drury did not send any money to the camp and informed his local MP and MI5. However, he claims to have received no response from the security services.

Speaking to The Express, the producer said: ‘I will not give money to a terrorist or someone I consider a terrorist.

‘I understand him wanting to get out of the camp in desperation but he and Hoda seem to be trying to manipulate people financially to help them, paying who knows who.

‘What is also worrying is that they appear to be negotiating in media interviews about when they can reach Türkiye and claim that they will be repatriated if they reach their embassy.

‘But imagine if people smugglers had helped Shamima so she could cross the Channel in a small boat and reach Britain. ‘There are many refugees from Syria and Iraq using this route via Türkiye.’

It is alleged that Begum has already received money from ‘unknown sources’ and is making plans to escape the camp amid tensions in the region.

The camp is controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which also controls other camps housing more than 9,000 ISIS fighters and nearly 40,000 women and children.

The SDF has now lost almost all of its territory. Forces loyal to Syria president Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The Londoner was 15 when he left Bethnal Green for Syria with two friends to join ISIS.

Shamima Begum (taken February 2023) was stripped of her British citizenship after leaving London to join ISIS.

Begum, who married an ISIS fighter and had three children, all of whom died, was found in a Syrian refugee camp in 2019 and her citizenship was immediately revoked on national security grounds by then home secretary Sajid Javid, setting off her long legal battle.

But in late December, the ECHR formally asked the Home Office whether it had breached human rights and anti-trafficking laws after Begum was stripped of her UK citizenship.

The latest intervention sparked a huge backlash, with Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood vowing at the time to defend the Government’s decision.

Begum lost an appeal against a decision to revoke her citizenship in February 2023 after the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) ruled it was legal.

He then lost his bid to the Court of Appeal in February 2024 and was most recently denied the chance to appeal to the Supreme Court in August 2024.

However, Begum’s lawyers warned at the time that they could still take the case to the ECHR, which they later did.

The European court told the Home Office to answer four questions about his citizenship.

One asks the question: ‘Have the applicant’s rights under Article 4 of the Convention been violated by the decision to deprive him of his nationality?’

Another says: ‘In terms of the Article 4 complaints made in the application, was the applicant within the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention at all material times?’

While Article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights relates to the ‘obligation to respect human rights’, Article 4 relates to the ‘prohibition of slavery and forced labour’.

Another question asks: ‘Does the decision of the Secretary of State for the Home Office to deprive the applicant of his citizenship violate his rights under Article 4 of the Convention?’

An FCDO spokesman said: ‘Protecting our national security is a top priority for the UK Government.

“That is why we continue to work with the Governments of Syria and Iraq and other partners to protect our shared security interests in the region and ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS.

• An earlier version of this article stated that judges of the European Court of Human Rights had come to Shamima Begum’s defense and that Article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights dealt with the ‘protection of property’. In fact, the court’s request for further information from the UK authorities was in accordance with the ordinary procedure following the receipt of an application alleging a breach of the Convention and did not constitute support for Ms Begum. Article 1 deals with the ‘obligation to respect human rights’. The article has been changed to reflect this.