Missing UK girls families demand police apology
The parents of three British schoolgirls missing in Syria have demanded an apology from the Metropolitan (Met) police, for falsely accusing them of lying about their knowledge prior to the trio's disappearance.
On Sunday, the parents of Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15, called on the Metropolitan police commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe to apologize for the false information released by authorities.
The three girls traveled from east London to Turkey on February 17 and then crossed into Syria where they reportedly are staying with a close school friend, who left Britain two months earlier. The girls are thought to have left the UK to join the ISIL Takfiri terrorists.
The Met released a statement on Saturday rejecting that the parents had not been aware prior to their disappearance, claiming that the families had been informed last December by the deputy headteacher of the girls' school, the Bethnal Green Academy. The police retracted their claim hours after, citing “further discussion with” the school.
The false police information came a day after the parents accused the Met of failing to give vital information to them that could have prevented the schoolgirls from traveling to Syria.
”The families’ solicitor Tasnime Akunjee called for Hogan-Howe (pictured above) to apologize for claiming that the parents lied, saying “it is a disgrace that the Met in their original press release effectively accused their families of being liars.”
The solicitor also criticized the police for refusal to release information about the disappearance of the first girl, saying “It is precisely the failure to communicate this key piece of information which disabled the family from intervention in the children’s plans.”
In a statement, the Met acknowledged that they had failed to properly inform the parents’ of students attending the academy.
Police wrote letters to the students’ guardians informing of the initial girl’s disappearance, asking permission to take formal statements from the pupils. However, police handed the letters to the girls themselves, instead of directly to the parents. The girls then hid the letters, which were found first after they left.
Renu Begum, sister of Shamima, said that if the police had informed the parents directly then “it would have made us know how serious it was … We were not in the loop, we were kept in the dark."
The families are set to appear before the government’s home affairs committee on Tuesday to voice their concerns. Hogan-Howe will also attend the session.
CAH/KA/HRB
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