The lawyer of the three British schoolgirls who fled to Syria to join the so-called Islamic State has spoken out about their safety, claiming that their chances of coming home is "vanishingly small".
Speaking to LBC's Tom Swarbrick, Muhammed Akunjee said "they assume they can get a ticket and come home, once they get there lets say they change their mind, [they can't] and they're posed with the problem of being brutalised to death".
To which Swarbrick asked: "So effectively they're being held hostage there?"
"It's a one-way trap", Akunjee replied.
The three Muslim schoolgirls who fled to join the so-called Islamic State in 2015
Amira Abase, 15, Shamima Begum, 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16, from the Bethnal Green Academy left home in February 2015 to join IS.
In July 2015, two of the teenagers told their families that they had been married and confirmed they were living in the war-torn country. One phoned and another used a social media platform.
Their families were said be be distraught at the news and have been clinging to the hope their daughters would want to come home.
The schoolgirls said that they had been separated and have been living apart for several weeks, in and around Raqqa, Syria – an IS stronghold.
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The sister of Siddhartha Dhar, the man suspected of being in the most recent IS videos, is giving evidence in Parliament this morning and Akunjee cast doubt over his involvement.
He added: "Siddhartha Dhar is not Jihadi John number two to my knowledge.
"The fellow who is billed as Jihadi John number two has one eye disproportionately larger than the other. Siddhartha Dhar is not disadvantaged genetically in that way."
He revealed communication with the girls in Raqqa has been lost following the bombing campaign by Russia and the US led coalition.
His comments come as a website is being launched to give parents and teachers advice on keeping children out the reach of extremists and their "poisonous propaganda".
