ISIS bride Shamima Begum’s UK return put on hold after British government wins right to appeal decision
Shamima Begum’s return to UK shores has been cast in doubt after the British government dramatically won a court battle allowing it the right to appeal an earlier decision. The appeal will be heard by the UK’s Supreme Court.
Begum, now 20, who was one of three east London schoolgirls who traveled to Syria to join Islamic State in 2015, won a High Court appeal earlier this month, allowing her to return to the UK and challenge the withdrawal of her British citizenship.
However, on Friday, the Court of Appeal ruled that the case raised a point of law of public importance, meaning that Begum’s return must be paused while the UK government appeals the decision.
Begum left the UK five years ago and lived under IS rule for over three years, having married Dutch-born Islamic State fighter Yago Riedijk. She was found in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019, and was discovered to be pregnant.
Then-UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid revoked her British citizenship later that year on national security grounds. Last year, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) said that Begum had not been unlawfully rendered stateless while she was living in Syria because she was entitled to Bangladeshi citizenship.
Afghanistan car bomb kills 8, injures 30
By Danielle Haynes
Afghan security officers stands guard outside the emergency hospital in Kabul after a car bomb blast targeted
a crowded market in Logar province of Afghanistan, on Thursday. Photo by Jawad Jalali/EPA-EFE
a crowded market in Logar province of Afghanistan, on Thursday. Photo by Jawad Jalali/EPA-EFE
Multiple children were among the victims.
"The incident occurred at 7:40 p.m. local time in Sharwal Square of Pul-e-Alam city, capital of Logar [province]. The initial information indicated that eight civilians were martyred and 30 wounded," tweeted ministry spokesman Tariq Arian, according to a translation by Xinhua news agency.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack; the Taliban denied involvement, Tolo News reported.
The explosion comes ahead of a planned three-day cease-fire between the Afghan government and Taliban militants for the Eid al-Adha holiday.
Pol-e-Alam, AFG
Egyptian kills brother in row over Eid meat
Accused had warned his family against accepting meat being distributed to the poor
Gulf News
The accused told prosecutors in the Delta province of Beheira that he flew into rage on learning that his family had accepted the meat given away to the poor during the Eid of Sacrifice, private newspaper Al Masri Al Youm said.
He added that his family had ignored his earlier warnings against accepting such gifts. In a fit of rage, he flew the meat piece out of the house window, triggering a fight with his brother. Wielding a knife, the accused reportedly fatally stabbed his brother and inflicted wounds in the abdomen of his sister.
Local prosecutors ordered him to be kept in custody for four days pending further interrogation.
During Eid Al Adha, Muslims, who can afford it, sacrifice animals such as sheep, goats, camels and cows, honouring the Prophet Ebrahim’s willingness to slay his son Ismael at Allah’s command. As the Prophet Ebrahim and Ismael showed unwavering obedience to the divine order, Allah sent a ram slaughtered in the son’s stead.
Was it that he was too proud to accept meat given to the poor? Did his pride exceed all common sense and love for his brother and sister?
Of course, the son Abraham nearly sacrificed was Isaac. Ishmael had been sent away by Abraham as an illegitimate son after Isaac, the promised son was born. The Ishmael sacrifice story was invented by Mohammed thousands of years after Isaac's story was written.
'It's psychological torture': Saudi activist's family say she hasn't been heard from in 6 weeks
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UBC graduate Loujain Alhathloul turned 31 on Friday in a Saudi jail
Michelle Ghoussoub · CBC News
Alhathloul, a graduate of the University of British Columbia, was arrested in May 2018 along with nine other high-profile women's rights activists. (Loujain Alhathloul/Facebook)
Women's rights activist Loujain Alhathloul, currently jailed in Saudi Arabia, hasn't been heard from in six weeks — the longest time she's been silent since she was arrested over two years ago, according to her brother.
Alhathloul, a graduate of the University of British Columbia, has been detained since May 2018, when she was arrested along with nine other women's rights activists. She turned 31 in prison on Friday.
"We don't know anything about her well-being and we don't know anything about where she is exactly," said her brother Walid Alhathloul, speaking on the phone from Toronto.
He said she was previously detained in Ha'er Prison, a maximum-security prison and the country's largest, but the family now isn't sure whether she's been moved to a different location.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, her family was able to visit her weekly. But those visits were replaced by weekly phone calls when Saudi Arabia tightened restrictions on prison visits to prevent the spread of the virus.
Alhathloul says the family now hasn't heard from her since June 9. "I would say it's a way to torture us, the family. Loujain knows that we are doing fine, but we don't know if she's doing fine," he said.
"We're safe — she's not safe. It's psychological torture."
Detained since 2018
Alhathloul was first accused of attempting to destabilize the kingdom. Since then, those charges have been changed to communicating with foreign journalists and attempting to apply for a job at the United Nations.
Her trial was indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We're expecting that we're not going to get any updates from the court, or from the judge," said her brother, who said that even two years on, the family maintains hope that she will be released.
"We're holding up. We're used to that and we know that the target is us. This was difficult at the beginning, but right now it's becoming part of our DNA."
Loujain Alhathloul's birthday triggered an outpouring of support on social media, and protests
outside of the Saudi embassy in Washington DC. (Loujain Alhathloul/Facebook)
In 2014, following her graduation from UBC, Alhathloul was arrested for live-streaming herself breaking Saudi Arabia's female driving ban by driving across the border from the United Arab Emirates.
The stunt, which captured the world's attention, earned her 70 days of detention. She followed that up by running in Saudi Arabia's first election open to women.
After 14 months of detention, she was offered to sign a deal that would have let her walk free if she posted a video statement denying that she'd been tortured. She tore up the document.
She had previously told her family that she'd been held in solitary confinement and suffered electrocution, flogging, and sexual assault
Alhathloul's birthday triggered an outpouring of support on social media and protests outside of the Saudi embassy in Washington, D.C.
Nobel Peace Prize nominee
Walid Alhathloul said he believes his sister, who in February was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by United States Congress members, has become a symbol for women's rights across the world.
"People saw that when she got involved, she didn't have to, because she had all her own privilege," he said. "And despite that, she sacrificed her own privilege for the sake of greater women's rights in Saudi Arabia. She did that unconditionally."
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