Commenting on Begum's interview statements, as she compared the aftermath of recent UK terror attacks to the suffering of Daesh members and supporters killed by US airstrikes in Syria, Alex Klis said:
"She's saying that there are fighters in IS that are getting killed. Those people go there knowing what to expect. People who went to the Manchester Arena, they went there to take their kids to a concert. She's out of order, comparing those two things. She's made her bed. I think she should remain where she is. I don't think she's being honest."
UK media reported that the Home Office decided to revoke Begum's citizenship following her request to return to Britain after spending around four years in Syria, where she travelled to join a Daesh militant and ended up marrying him and having two children.
In the aftermath of Begum's appeal to UK authorities, a number of reactions by public figures in Britain have surfaced, including a British boxer.
Former unified light-welterweight world champion, Amir Khan hit out against the young woman who left the UK in 2015 to marry a Daesh militant in Syria, outraged by the possibility of her being allowed back into Britain, only to realise his concern was slightly late in coming.
— Amir Khan (@amirkingkhan) February 20, 2019
— Amir Khan (@amirkingkhan) February 20, 2019
British journalist and presenter Piers Morgan was similarly adamant in his Twitter posts, arguing that "ISIS brides should never be allowed home."
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 18, 2019
In another message, Morgan argued:
"If you think bringing radicalised, highly dangerous people back to our country, or our prison system (already a hotbed of radicalism), is a sensible move, you're living in cloud cuckoo land. Let them rot where they made their terrorist beds."
Leader of the Women's Equality Party, Sophie Walker, disagreed with Morgan, saying that "bringing Shamima Begum back to face justice and possible rehabilitation is a more effective way to tackle fundamentalism and its impact on women than stripping her of citizenship, a human right."
"Making her stateless is a political statement, not a strategic or thoughtful decision," Walker suggested.
On 20 February, UK Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesperson declined to comment on the individual case of 19-year-old Shamima Begum, but confirmed that "any decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on all available evidence and they are not taken lightly."
*Daesh(ISIL/ISIS/Islamic State) is a terrorist group banned in Russia and a spate of other countries
