In any list of names likely to inspire hatred when spoken aloud or written down, Shamima Begum’s would stand out prominently.
She has been called a terrorist, a monster, a narcissistic would-be celebrity and a twisted manipulator since running away to join ISIS as a girl of 15 in 2015.
Now a special immigration appeals tribunal has rejected her appeal against Britain’s decision to strip her of citizenship, a judgment nevertheless couched in terms deeply unfavourable to the government’s case.
Insults aimed at this young woman have continued despite a painstakingly detailed 10-part BBC podcast, which has also led to a 90-minute documentary, seeking to establish a fuller truth than obvious in past media coverage.
Many minds were firmly made up early in the story of the London teenager who made her way to Syria with two schoolfriends.
Initially there was concern for their safety. Nicky Morgan, then education minister, wrote to the girls’ school in Bethnal Green, in east London, saying “we hope and pray for the safe return of the pupils”. But that seemingly decent approach would not last. The girls were demonised. Ms Begum was transformed in official and public perception from gullible to wicked.
Fuelled by lurid reporting and the unforgiving rhetoric of rent-a-quote politicians, the new narrative made light of inconvenient facts.
Ms Begum and one of her friends were minors – 15 years old – when they left home; the third girl was 16. It is accepted that they had been groomed. All the same, as opinion hardened, they were no longer seen as victims of child traffickers, but as irredeemable terrorists.
The other girls are thought to have died in the Syrian conflict. There has been no sympathy over their fate, and little more for Ms Begum since she turned up alive four years later in a Syrian refugee camp. When the British government removed her citizenship, preventing her return even to answer allegations about her activities, a thumping majority – nudging 80 per cent in one poll – supported the action.
With four more years having passed, it might be thought that a serious attempt to tell the disturbing but also quite complicated Shamima Begum story would encourage rational analysis. But not a lot has changed, especially if reaction to the broadcasts – on social media and in populist sections of the media and politics – offers a reliable guide.
In a scathing review of Josh Baker’s podcast and documentary, the Daily Mail’s TV critic Christopher Stevens deplores a supposed “left-wing delusion that allowing her to return to the UK will demonstrate some sort of moral righteousness”. Bizarrely, he criticises the BBC for being “intent on airing the arguments for and against a second chance”.
The Sunday Telegraph’s Zoe Strimpel insists Ms Begum was in full possession of her faculties when she “committed herself to a sadistic genocidal group of terrorists”.
She has been called a terrorist, a monster, a narcissistic would-be celebrity and a twisted manipulator since running away to join ISIS as a girl of 15 in 2015
Amid such unyielding condemnation, and a shocking refusal to recognise extenuating circumstances, it is little wonder that the public mood remains overwhelmingly hostile.
In this fevered atmosphere, it is also easy to forget there is much common ground.
Most people, from left, right or centre, despise ISIS and its horrific violence. Most probably also agree there should be judicial consequences for anyone who commits crimes connected to a terrorist group, from simple membership (which Ms Begum, now 23 and outwardly remorseful, admits) to active participation (which she does not).
Sajid Javid, who as home secretary removed Ms Begum’s UK citizenship, has said anyone who “knew what I know” would have reached the same decision. But we do not know what he knows; there may be justification for withholding details of the claims against her, but we do not know that either.
We do know, of course, that she was legally a child when she left. If that is not already powerful mitigation, the government’s own lawyer James Eadie unwittingly provided more.
He told the immigration hearing that no one disputes it is entirely possible for a person to be “trafficked or manipulated or brainwashed or similar” before becoming a threat to the public. If that sounds like the start of a compelling defence submission, think again. He went on to say: “You can be trafficked in the most ghastly, unacceptable way, exposed in the most unacceptable way, desensitised in the most unacceptable way and yet, unfortunately ... still be a security threat.”
To some observers, that is harsh. It also seems disingenuous to insist, as Mr Javid has done, that his decision does not render Ms Begum stateless because of her Bangladeshi roots. These roots that have never led to a visit to the country, let alone an application for citizenship or any wish by Bangladesh to accept her.
Reaction to the tribunal’s decision, announced on Wednesday, divides along predictable lines. The human rights lobby group Reprieve denounced a “racist citizenship-stripping policy” which it said was “unsustainable and badly out of step with security partners like the US”.
The judgment itself revealed significant reservations on the part of the tribunal. Justice Robert Jay found “credible suspicion” that Ms Begum was “recruited, transferred and then harboured for the purpose of sexual exploitation” but felt compelled to conclude that it was for the home secretary, not the panel, to consider whether her travel was voluntary and decide what was in the public interest.
“Reasonable people will profoundly disagree with the secretary of state,” the judge wrote. “But that raises wider societal and political questions which it is not the role of this commission to address.”
The government inevitably welcomed the decision. And Mr Baker, the documentary maker, stands accused of treating Ms Begum sympathetically in his podcast interviews. In fact, he makes ample allowance for the possibility, likelihood even, that his subject is not wholly truthful when answering his questions.
Maybe she was fully aware of what she was doing, and did become – as alleged – a cruel enforcer of ISIS repression who stitched bombers’ suicide vests. Maybe, at least, she knew an awful lot more than she now admits. But the place to prove that is a dispassionate court of justice, not the notoriously febrile court of public opinion steered by tub-thumping polemic.
If she is guilty, she should be punished, as have been the wives of ISIS fighters returning to other European countries. It is more difficult to see why she should be treated more severely than a stream of offenders who have been jailed for terrorist-related crimes without forfeiting British nationality.
In any criminal trial of Ms Begum, the charges can be tested, along with her claims of innocence or pleadings for mercy. Offences that began as a groomed minor are still offences; it would be for a judge to determine what allowance to make for age, grooming, enforced under-age marriage, three babies lost in infancy and the years she has already spent in Al Roj camp. The security services are well able to keep her under close scrutiny if there is suspicion of any residual threat.
As matters stand, she has been convicted of nothing. Mr Jay pointedly said ”the idea that Ms Begum could have conceived and organised all of this herself is not plausible”.
And what shame would be brought on the country of Ms Begum’s birth and childhood if she were denied one of the most fundamental of human rights, an entitlement to be judged fairly in accordance with the law?
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg
Real Madrid (2) v Bayern Munich (1)
Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
When: 10.45pm, Tuesday
Watch Live: beIN Sports HD
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10
2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
List of alleged parties
May 15 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at
least 17 staff members
May 20 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'bring your own booze'
party
Nov 27 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff
Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary
Gavin Williamson
Dec 13 2020: PM and Carrie throw a flat party
Dec 14 2020: London mayor candidate Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative
Party headquarters
Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Huddersfield Town permanent signings:
- Steve Mounie (striker): signed from Montpellier for £11 million
- Tom Ince (winger): signed from Derby County for £7.7m
- Aaron Mooy (midfielder): signed from Manchester City for £7.7m
- Laurent Depoitre (striker): signed from Porto for £3.4m
- Scott Malone (defender): signed from Fulham for £3.3m
- Zanka (defender): signed from Copenhagen for £2.3m
- Elias Kachunga (winger): signed for Ingolstadt for £1.1m
- Danny WIlliams (midfielder): signed from Reading on a free transfer
The%C2%A0specs%20
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'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Points about the fast fashion industry Celine Hajjar wants everyone to know
- Fast fashion is responsible for up to 10 per cent of global carbon emissions
- Fast fashion is responsible for 24 per cent of the world's insecticides
- Synthetic fibres that make up the average garment can take hundreds of years to biodegrade
- Fast fashion labour workers make 80 per cent less than the required salary to live
- 27 million fast fashion workers worldwide suffer from work-related illnesses and diseases
- Hundreds of thousands of fast fashion labourers work without rights or protection and 80 per cent of them are women
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
More on Coronavirus in France
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
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RESULTS
Welterweight
Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) beat Mostafa Radi (PAL)
(Unanimous points decision)
Catchweight 75kg
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) beat Leandro Martins (BRA)
(Second round knockout)
Flyweight (female)
Manon Fiorot (FRA) beat Corinne Laframboise (CAN)
(RSC in third round)
Featherweight
Bogdan Kirilenko (UZB) beat Ahmed Al Darmaki
(Disqualification)
Lightweight
Izzedine Al Derabani (JOR) beat Rey Nacionales (PHI)
(Unanimous points)
Featherweight
Yousef Al Housani (UAE) beat Mohamed Fargan (IND)
(TKO first round)
Catchweight 69kg
Jung Han-gook (KOR) beat Max Lima (BRA)
(First round submission by foot-lock)
Catchweight 71kg
Usman Nurmogamedov (RUS) beat Jerry Kvarnstrom (FIN)
(TKO round 1).
Featherweight title (5 rounds)
Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)
(TKO round 1).
Lightweight title (5 rounds)
Bruno Machado (BRA) beat Mike Santiago (USA)
(RSC round 2).
Champions parade (UAE timings)
7pm Gates open
8pm Deansgate stage showing starts
9pm Parade starts at Manchester Cathedral
9.45pm Parade ends at Peter Street
10pm City players on stage
11pm event ends
SUZUME
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Makoto%20Shinkai%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Nanoka%20Hara%2C%20Hokuto%20Matsumura%2C%20Eri%20Fukatsu%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
