LONDON: The Dutch husband of Shamima Begum, the British-born teenager who ran away to join Daesh in Syria in 2015, has said he wants her to return to the Netherlands with him.
Yago Riedijk and Begum married days after she arrived inside Daesh-held territory aged 15.
Riedijk, 27, is being held in a Kurdish detention center in north-eastern Syria. He faces a six-year jail term for joining a terror organization if he returns to the Netherlands.
In an interview with the BBC, Riedijk admitted fighting for the group but says he now wants to return home with his wife and their newborn son.
Riedijk said he rejected Daesh and had tried to leave the group, according to the BBC. He added that he was imprisoned in Raqqa and tortured after the extremists accused him of being a Dutch spy.
Begum, now aged 19, and Riedijk escaped from the town of Baghouz, the last Daesh-held area in eastern Syria, as the terror group’s territory collapsed.
Her husband surrendered to a group of Syrian fighters, and Begum and their newborn son Jerah ended up among 39,000 people at the Al-Hawl refugee camp in northern Syria.
Begum was moved to another camp nearer the Iraqi border after receiving death threats.
She had earlier said that she wanted to return to Britain but her British citizenship was revoked on security grounds.
When asked if he thought marrying a 15-year-old girl was acceptable, Riedijk told the BBC: “To be honest, when my friend came and said there was a girl who was interested in marriage, I wasn’t that interested because of her age, but I accepted the offer anyway.
“We sat down and she seemed in a good state of mind. It was her own choice; she was the one who asked to look for a partner for her.
“Then I was invited and, yeah, she was very young and it might have been better for her to wait a bit, but she didn’t — she chose to get married and I chose to marry her.”
Shamima Begum’s Dutch husband wants to return to the Netherlands with her
Shamima Begum’s Dutch husband wants to return to the Netherlands with her
- Riedijk, 27, is being held in a Kurdish detention center in north-eastern Syria
- Begum was moved to another camp nearer the Iraqi border after receiving death threats
Syrian authorities bust smuggling ring, tighten border controls
- Smugglers' boat collides with rocks as it attempted to flee pursuing as Coast Guard vessels
- The boat was about to illegally transport passengers from the Syrian coast of Tartus coast to Cyprus
DAMASCUS: Syrian Coast Guard forces have arrested members of a human smuggling network operating in the western town of Tartus, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported Saturday.
Authorities pounced on the smugglers as they were about to transport passengers from the Tartus coast to Cyprus by illegal means, the state media said, citing a statement from the General Authority of Ports and Customs.
"The operation resulted in the arrest of all those involved, including the organizers of the trip," said the report, adding that the smugglers' boat attempted to escape as Coast Guard vessels surrounded it, but collided with rocks.
No details were made available on how many suspects were arrested and how many passengers were rescued. Criminal charges are being prepared against the arrested suspects, SANA said.
New restrictions on commercial transit
In a separate move to regulate trade and border security, the ports and customs authority has issued a new policy restricting truck access at land crossings and seaports.
Commercial trucks will now only be permitted entry for loading or unloading upon presentation of an original receipt from the Ministry of Transport’s freight office.
The transfer of cargo between Syrian and non-Syrian vehicles must now take place strictly within designated customs yards at border crossings.
Trucks passing through Syria in transit remain permitted, provided they are under a mandatory customs escort between entry and exit points.
