Shamima Begum's chances of returning to the UK have been "strengthened" following a landmark court ruling, her lawyer has said.
A 16-year-old terror suspect who claimed she was the victim of modern slavery had the case against her dropped after the Home Office accepted she had been sexually exploited and groomed online by an extremist.
It was the first time that such a prosecution had been stopped because of sexual exploitation.
Begum, 22, last year revealed she had been groomed by friends and older men she met on the internet, before leaving for Syria where she joined ISIS in 2015, the Evening Standard reports.
Jonathan Hall QC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said: “Being both a victim of modern slavery and presenting a risk to the general public are not incompatible.
“If fewer criminal cases are going to be possible, this begs the question whether there are sufficient non-criminal justice measures in place, in particular to deal with the terrorist risk presented by children.”
Begum’s lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said: “Shamima has been arguing this from the beginning. This just strengthens her case.”
The 16-year-old, who cannot be named, stood accused of possessing a video on how to create bombs and instructions showing to put together a gun.
Begum, previously of Bethnal Green in east London, was 15 when she left the UK along with two friends to join ISIS.
She now says she is no longer associated with the group and lives in Syria's Al-Roj refugee camp.
Begum has been stripped of her British citizenship and in February 2021 she was refused permission to return to the UK by the Supreme Court on the grounds of public safety.
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