Samantha Lewthwaite

Samantha was born on 5 December, 1983 in Banbridge, County Down, Northern Ireland. Her father, Andrew Lewthwaite, is a former army soldier who was posted in the ninth and twelfth Royal Lancer cavalry regiments. Her mother, Elizabeth Christine Lewthwaite, is of Irish Catholic origin. Samantha has a brother, Allan Lewthwaite, and a sister, Sabrina Lewthwaite.

Soon after Samatha’s birth, her family moved to Aylesbury, England. After attending Elmhurst Middle School and The Grange Secondary school, she went to the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London to study politics. But she dropped out of the university and soon abandoned her Christian heritage before converting to Islam at the age of 18. Her name was changed to Sherafiyah.

Samantha met Germaine Lindsay, one of the convicts of the London blasts, in a campaign rally post the 9/11 attacks. Lindsay too had converted to Islam and had acquired the name, Abdullah Shaheed Jamal.

They got married in October 2002. Samantha registered the marriage by using the name Asamantra, and soon gave birth to a baby boy. Her first daughter was born after the London blast in July 2005.

During the trial of London blasts, it was proved that Jamal was behind the attack and subsequently Samantha was convicted of being indirectly involved in the act of terror. She was labeled as the White Widow, referring to her British origin and for being the wife of a suicide bomber.

On July 7, 2005, a bomb went off in a train at the Parsons Green Station and Samantha made it to the headlines right after the blast. The attack killed 30 passengers and left several wounded.

The Scotland Yard investigation suggested a direct involvement of Jamal and Samantha was taken into custody. Initially, she denied the charges but later confessed and revealed to the officers that Mohammad Siddique Khan, the lead planner behind the blast, is an acquaintance.