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Dutch husband of Shamima Begum wants to take her home
Source: Associated Press
Dutch husband of Shamima Begum wants to take her home
By DANICA KIRKA
March 3, 2019
LONDON (AP) — The Dutch man who married a British teenager after she ran away to join the Islamic State group says he wants to return home to the Netherlands with Shamima Begum and their newborn son.
Yago Riedijk, 27, told the BBC from a Kurdish-run detention center that he met Begum within days of her arrival in Syria when she was 15. He said in an interview aired Sunday that the marriage was “her own choice.”
When asked if marrying a 15-year-old was appropriate, he said: “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.”
Riedijk says that while he fought for IS, he now rejects the group and tried to leave it.
-snip-
Although it’s unclear if Begum has committed a crime, her comments — and those of her husband — throw into sharp relief larger questions about how Western societies will deal with others who joined IS, but want to return to their home countries now that the extremist group is on the verge of collapse.
-snip-
By DANICA KIRKA
March 3, 2019
LONDON (AP) — The Dutch man who married a British teenager after she ran away to join the Islamic State group says he wants to return home to the Netherlands with Shamima Begum and their newborn son.
Yago Riedijk, 27, told the BBC from a Kurdish-run detention center that he met Begum within days of her arrival in Syria when she was 15. He said in an interview aired Sunday that the marriage was “her own choice.”
When asked if marrying a 15-year-old was appropriate, he said: “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.”
Riedijk says that while he fought for IS, he now rejects the group and tried to leave it.
-snip-
Although it’s unclear if Begum has committed a crime, her comments — and those of her husband — throw into sharp relief larger questions about how Western societies will deal with others who joined IS, but want to return to their home countries now that the extremist group is on the verge of collapse.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/76c0ad09c6cc4dc999841eb5fc09e2d7
______________________________________________________________________
In the BBC interview, Reidijk makes many excuses. I don't think he quite gets it.
______________________________________________________________________
Source: BBC
Shamima Begum: What was life like for the IS couple in Syria?
3 March 2019
-snip-
'I made a huge mistake'
Mr Riedijk's wife claimed that he "wasn't really a fighter", but he went to fight for IS in Kobane and was injured.
He fought again in Aleppo.
He said: "I made a huge mistake. I've thrown away years of my life. It was not my life.
"Luckily, I didn't directly hurt other people. But me joining and supporting a group like that. It's something that's not acceptable."
He added that he had hardly used his weapon.
-snip-
3 March 2019
-snip-
'I made a huge mistake'
Mr Riedijk's wife claimed that he "wasn't really a fighter", but he went to fight for IS in Kobane and was injured.
He fought again in Aleppo.
He said: "I made a huge mistake. I've thrown away years of my life. It was not my life.
"Luckily, I didn't directly hurt other people. But me joining and supporting a group like that. It's something that's not acceptable."
He added that he had hardly used his weapon.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47435039
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