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09th Mar 2019

Shamima Begum’s baby has died, according to reports

Carl Kinsella

Shamima Begum

Begum had been prevented from returning to the United Kingdom.

The child of Shamima Begum, the young woman who left the United Kingdom at the age of 15 to join ISIS, has died according to reports.

Begum is currently being held in a refugee camp in Syria, and her child had been with her.

The 19-year-old had recently come to the attention of the media when she made it clear that she was hoping to return to England. Home secretary Sajid Javid rescinded her citizenship, preventing her from returning. As it stands, Begum is stateless.

The baby, whose name was Jarrah, was born just three weeks ago. According to the BBC, a medical certificate listed his cause of death as pneumonia.

Given that the child was born to a British citizen at the time, legal experts had concluded that Begum’s baby was a citizen of the United Kingdom, and thus could have freely returned.

The Labour Party said his death was the result of a “callous and inhumane” decision.

“This was an entirely avoidable death of a British citizen,” said Del Babu, a former chief of the Metropolitan Police.

“There was no attempt to help by the Home Office. I think it’s shocking how the home secretary has treated this situation.”

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