ISIL teenager Shamima Begum will not be allowed into Bangladesh

World
Europe

A British teenager who was stripped of her British citizenship after leaving London to join ISIL is not a Bangladeshi citizen and there was "no question" of her being allowed to enter the country, the foreign ministry in Dhaka said on Wednesday.

It added it was "deeply concerned that she has been erroneously identified as a holder of dual citizenship shared with Bangladesh alongside her birthplace, the United Kingdom."

Shamima Begum, 19, left the UK to join ISIL when she was 15 but now wants to return after giving birth in a refugee camp in Syria at the weekend. Her British citizenship was revoked on security grounds on Tuesday.

"She is a British citizen by birth and has never applied for dual nationality with Bangladesh," the Bangledeshi foreign ministry said in a statement.

"It may also be mentioned that she never visited Bangladesh in the past despite her parental lineage. So, there is no question of her being allowed to enter into Bangladesh," according to the statement.

Tasnime Akunjee, a lawyer for Begum's family, earlier said the teen was born in Britain and had never had a Bangladeshi passport.

(Cover image: A combination of handout CCTV pictures received from the Metropolitan Police Service shows (L-R) British teenagers Kadiza Sultana, Amira Abase and Shamima Begum passing through security barriers at Gatwick Airport, London, February 17, 2015. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters