LONDON: A British Muslim woman returning home to the UK from a holiday in Turkey claimed she was detained by police because she has a similar name as Daesh bride Shamima Begum.
Shamina Begum, who was returning to Manchester Airport, said she was asked if she “thinks bombing is okay,” and was told to seek assistance from UK Border Force staff because they said her name was the same as that belonging to “someone of interest.” Begum, who had been traveling with her partner, alleged that five officers detained her under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
She also claimed her mobile phone and handbag were seized before having her DNA and fin-gerprints taken and being questioned for three hours over her name, her Muslim faith and even her mortgage.
In what Begum called a “humiliating” ordeal, she said she was also forced to go to an airport bathroom to relieve herself in an unlocked cubicle with a male officer present, all while being on her period.
“I’m traumatized,” she told The Independent newspaper. “At first I was confused — I’ve trav-elled to many destinations previously and never had this problem,” she added. Begum was eventually released with no further action taken against her.
“After I was let go, I cried all the way from the airport to my house and I couldn’t face the out-side world for about four weeks,” she said. –Agencies
