ISIS bride Shamima Begum’s lawyer says ‘vulnerable’ terror teen is ‘no less deserving’ of legal aid than anyone else
Shamima Begum's family lawyer said it was yet to be proven if the ISIS bride 'committed any crimes'
SHAMIMA Begum is no less deserving of legal aid than anyone else, her lawyer said defending the ISIS bride.
The 19-year-old is set to get legal aid funded by the taxpayers, leaving many furious.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt admitted he would feel “deeply uncomfortable” if Begum was granted the money.
Tasnime Akunjee, the family's lawyer, has rubbished the comments saying she is just a “vulnerable” teen.
He told : “Legal aid is created for access to justice.
“It is there for people in the most vulnerable position, it exists for people accused of crime.”
Ministers said the decision to grant Begum the funding is a matter for the Independent Legal Aid Agency (LAA) and they could not intervene.
They make the determination on whether to grant aid regardless if the individual has been accused of a crime or if they are a victim of one.
Akunjee added it has yet to be proven if Begum “committed any crimes” and questioned how she is “less deserving of legal aid than the vast majority of people”.
'SHE'S A VULNERABLE TEEN'
Begum is said to be living in a refugee camp in Syria after all three of her children died.
The 19-year-old's citizenship was revoked by the Home Secretary Sajid Javid earlier this year after she was found in a refugee camp heavily pregnant.
"There were lots of young European women in the hisba [ISIS morality police]. Some of them were very harsh and the local population became very scared."
The British born schoolgirl left her family in Bethnal Green, east London, age 15 to join the caliphate and lived in the Syrian city of Raqqa where she married a Dutch jihadi.
The pair had three children, all of whom died as infants.
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