Hamed Chapman
Britain’s domestic security agency MI5 was aware that Rhianan Rudd had been groomed by right-wing extremists when she became the youngest schoolgirl to be charged with terrorist offences in 2021, a BBC investigation has found.
But unlike the case of Shamima Begum, who had her citizenship removed after being trafficked to join Daesh in occupied Syria, the prosecution of Rudd was later dropped by the Home Office, though she tragically took her own life at a Nottinghamshire children’s home in May 2022.
According to Hope not Hate, the UK-based advocacy group that campaigns against racism and fascism, Rhianan’s appalling story was “sadly another case of how far-right extremism ruins lives,” having heard from parents about children changing before their eyes after watching extreme content online.
The contrasting response by British authorities to the case of Shamima, who was smuggled out of the UK by a Canadian intelligent agent, also knowingly, was questioned predominantly by Muslims on social media platforms, including Zeeshan Ali, founder of the satirical account @smile2jammah, who asked his 67,000 followers to spot the difference.
The BBC said its investigation had found evidence showing the grooming and sexual exploitation of Rudd that was handed to MI5 months before the schoolgirl was charged with terrorism offences. She had even been referred to the government’s controversial Prevent de-radicalisation scheme back in 2020 by her mother, Emily Carter, after admitting to downloading a bomb-making manual.
Carter said her daughter should have been treated “as a victim rather than a terrorist” in the case, which the BBC said “raises questions about how the UK deals with the problem of children involved in extremism,” quoting the words of the senior lawyer responsible for reviewing terror laws.
Since she was 14-year-old, the teenage schoolgirl had been talking online to older people, including American extremist Christopher Cook, who promoted a terrorist form of neo-Nazism and formed a combat cell to carry out attacks. Currently, he is awaiting sentencing in the US for plotting to destroy a power grid.
Evidence was also found that her mother’s partner, Dax Mallaburn, who is also American and had been part of a white supremacist prison gang in the US, had also influenced Rhianan.
Exit Hate, a charity that supports people impacted by right-wing extremism in the UK, also said that the tragedy raises questions about how the UK deals with children and young people involved in extremism and that it should be a “wake-up call.”
Its founder, Nigel Bromage, was quoted as expressing alarm about seeing the growing number of children fall victim to online grooming by right-wing extremists. “The youngest we’ve worked with is a nine-year-old boy who was being influenced via video games,” he said.
“Hearing about Rhianan’s story, we’re seeing that journey being replicated time and time again. Our hearts go out to the family affected, and it is definitely a wake-up call as to how vulnerable our young people are online.”
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