Woman interrogated for hours at airport 'for having similar name to Shamima Begum'
A woman has been interrogated for hours at the airport 'for having similar name to Shamima Begum'.
Returning from a holiday in Turkey, the woman was detained by officials at Manchester airport due to her name being likened to Begum - the Londoner who left the country as a teenager to join Isis in Syria.
Border force explained to the traveller that her name was similar to 'someone of interest'.
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A British Muslim woman, Shamina Begum, was instructed by airport officials to seek assistance at the e-gate machines when returning to the UK.
The 37-year-old approached baggage reclaim when five officers rushed over and detained her under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Shamina recalled how the officers pointed out that she shared the same name as someone 'wanted'.
Her belongings were subsequently confiscated and the woman was made to sit through three hours of questioning about her name, family history, religion and whether she 'thinks bombing is okay'.
While she has since been released by the police, Shamina was left totally 'humiliated'.
"I’m traumatised," she told The Independent. "At first I was confused; I’ve travelled to many destinations previously and never had this problem."
The woman revealed that she 'cried all the way' from the airport to her house after finally being released and 'couldn’t face the outside world for about four weeks' after the ordeal.
Shamina continued: "In the immediate days after this happened, I’d wake up every day and wish I had not.
"I’m not a terrorist and didn’t deserve to be treated that way. It was a dark and difficult time which still impacts me, unfortunately."
"It’s easy for the police to hand people a leaflet about what a Schedule 7 stop is," she explained. "But what about aftercare? It’s taken me six months to talk about it properly."
She added: "If it isn’t down to my race and religion, why aren’t police stopping every white person who walks through the airport? It’s always the brown and Black people who are targeted.
"It wasn’t just the fact that I was stopped; it was the kind of questions I was asked. Just because I am a Muslim with a Muslim name and background, it doesn’t make me a terrorist."
Shamina emphasised that people 'should all be treated equally', before stating: "The officers had no reason to stop me and couldn’t give me a proper reason for the stop."
The woman 'didn't even get an apology' after the 'traumatic' experience.
"I think I’m just a statistic to the police who they can say was stopped and screened," she went on. "They stripped me of my humanity and I’m dreading going on holiday again despite my love of travelling."
Not only did she have to sit through hours of interrogation, the woman also had her DNA and fingerprints taken and added to the police database.
Formally complaining to the Greater Manchester Police back in October 2022, Shamina explained: "I was told that my stop was based on the fact that my personal biodata was similar to that of a person of interest in relation to terrorism.
"I content contend that this personal biodata was nothing more than my name, which is a very common Bengali name."
Shamina concluded her letter writing: "I, therefore, believe that the stop was entirely arbitrary and as a result of religious and cultural ignorance and the overzealous attitudes of the officers."
A spokesperson for the Greater Manchester Police Professional Standards Branch said: "Upon receipt of a complaint, our assessment team reviewed the circumstances and identified that the use of Schedule 7 was reasonable and proportionate."
Topics: Shamima Begum, UK News
Rhiannon Ingle