London — The Dutchman who married a British teenager after she ran away to join the Islamic State group says he wants to return home to the Netherlands with Shamima Begum and their newborn son.
Yago Riedijk, 27, told the BBC from a Kurdish-run detention centre that he met Begum within days of her arrival in Syria when she was 15. He says the marriage was "her own choice."
When asked if marrying 15-year-old was appropriate, he said: "To be honest, when my friend came and said there was a girl who was interested in marriage, I wasn't that interested because of her age, but I accepted the offer anyway."
Riedijk says that while he fought for IS, he now rejects the group and tried to leave it.