I'm Not a Monster

Nine years to the day since Shamima Begum entered ISIS controlled Syria, she’ll find out whether she’s any closer to coming back to Britain. Josh is at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London to hear whether Begum’s lawyers have succeeded in arguing that the British government’s decision to take away her citizenship was unlawful.

After she emerged from the remnants of the Islamic State group in 2019, the British Home Secretary took away her citizenship saying she was a threat to national security. Her lawyers claim that he failed to consider whether she was victim of trafficking.

Will her appeal succeed?

Josh answers your questions about Shamima Begum and the making of the multi-award winning series.

I’m Not A Monster is the BBC’s most-awarded podcast series. It’s the only audio series to have won two Rose D’Or Awards and it won an inaugural Podcast Academy Award for Documentary, an Edward R Murrow Award, The Grand Jury Prize at the New York Radio Awards and three awards in the documentary, current affairs and true crime categories at the British Podcast Awards 2023. Series two was recently named podcast of the year by the Foreign Press Association and best investigative audio series by the Association of International Broadcasters.

What do you want to know about The Shamima Begum Story and the making of the podcast? Join us on Tuesday the 12th of September in London, as Josh answers your questions about the series, share more about how it was made and some extra things we’ve learnt about the story.

Apply for FREE TICKETS: https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/shamima-begum

What happened to the girl Shamima Begum says convinced her to join the Islamic State group?

Less than 24 hours before this episode was published ,we got the answer.

Reporter: Josh Baker

This episode contains some strong language

Episode 10 will be available on Wednesday March 22nd

No longer a vulnerable schoolgirl, but a seemingly unrepentant adult. Shamima Begum enrages the British public and ends up stuck in Syria.

A series of media interviews come to shape how she’s perceived - with long lasting consequences.

Reporter: Josh Baker

ARCHIVE

This episode contains upsetting moments involving children

Raqqa falls, the so-called caliphate crumbles and a pregnant Shamima Begum is desperate to come home.

After she and her husband Yago walk out of the ashes of the Islamic State group, she’s discovered in a detention camp where she gives an interview that will change her life.

Reporter: Josh Baker

ARCHIVE:

This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence and some upsetting moments involving children.

Someone close to Shamima Begum is looking for a way out of the so-called caliphate.

Reporter: Josh Baker

With her new husband in prison, Shamima Begum is left in the care of a stranger, but who is he? Josh travels to the heart of the former caliphate as he searches for clues and investigates what her life with the Islamic State group was like.

Reporter: Josh Baker

This episode contains descriptions of violence, sexual violence, and has upsetting content

Shamima Begum’s new life under ISIS isn’t what she expected. She says what she thought would be paradise is more like a prison. At just 15 years-old she finds herself trapped in an ISIS guesthouse, where the only way out is to get married. In his first interview since 2019, Islamic State group fighter Yago Reidjik reveals how he became her husband and what their life together was like.

This episode contains very strong language and references to sexual abuse.

Reporter: Josh Baker