Shamima Begum is being treated worse 'than Nazi war criminals,' says her lawyer

The lawyer of ISIS bride Shamima Begum has said the 19-year-old is being treated less fairly than Nazi war criminals.

Begum's pleas to be allowed back to Britain have sparked a national row and have been met with derision in the UK.

Bethnal Green schoolgirl Begum fled London for Syria in 2015 when she was 15 years old.

Her lawyer Tasnime Akunjee told the Times: “The Nazis had the Nuremberg trials. They were given due process. This girl was a victim when she went out there at 15 years old.

"Our politicians are saying that she should be denied protections and due process that would have been granted to Nazis.”

However he did state that some of her comments, which have included her saying she does not regret leaving for Syria, have not been helpful.

He added: “In terms of the political landscape what she’s saying isn’t helpful.

“She’s somebody who was persuaded to go out there. She will need help. She will obviously have to be de-radicalised.”

Begum, who was one of three so-called ISIS brides when she left Bethnal Green in 2015, first asked to come back to Britain so she could give birth here.

She has since given birth to a baby boy, in a refugee camp where she is living, who she has named Jarrar.

Prior to this she had lost two children to illness and malnutrition.

In an interview at the weekend, Begum said she does not regret leaving the UK to join Islamic State in Syria because it made her “stronger and tougher”.

She also said she believes “people should have sympathy” towards her.

She said she had “a good time” in Syria and that she would not have met anyone like her Dutch jihadist husband Yago Riedijk if she had remained in the UK.

In regards to talk of her facing legal action should she return to UK shores, she said for four years she had been “just a housewife” and that British authorities had no evidence that she had done anything dangerous.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has warned that he "will not hesitate" to prevent the return of Britons who travelled to join Islamic State but Justice Secretary David Gauke told Sky News that "we can't make people stateless".

Former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation Lord Carlile told the BBC if Ms Begum has not gained a second citizenship of another country she will have to be allowed back to her homeland.

This because under international law it is not possible for a person to be made "stateless".

Chief executive of counter-extremism organisation Qulliam Haras Rafiq said he thought it likely the pregnant teenager's family will find the money to fund her journey back.

Following this, he felt she would likely be allowed entry and then arrested.

He said it was possible that she could be de-radicalised but that, based on The Times interview, the process could be difficult.