A UK court has upheld the decision to strip Shamima Begum, a former ISIS bride, of her British citizenship. Begum, who traveled to Syria as a teenager to join the Islamic State group, lost her appeal against the government’s decision. The judges ruled that it wasn’t their place to determine whether the decision was “harsh” and that their sole task was to assess whether it was lawful.
Begum was only 15 years old when she fled from London in 2015 to marry an ISIS fighter in Syria. She had three children while in Syria, all of whom died. After she was found in a Syrian refugee camp in 2019, her British citizenship was revoked. Last year, she lost her appeal against the decision at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.
In her latest bid to overturn the decision, Begum’s lawyers brought the case to the Court of Appeal. However, all three judges dismissed her case, stating that she had made a “calculated” decision to join ISIS, even though she may have been influenced by others. Chief Justice Sue Carr emphasized that it wasn’t the court’s role to determine whether the decision was harsh or whether Begum was responsible for her own misfortune.
Following the ruling, Begum’s lawyer indicated that they would continue to fight for her case. He expressed his disappointment that after five years of fighting, Begum still hadn’t received justice in a British court. Begum’s legal team argued that she should have been treated as a child trafficking victim rather than a security risk.
Former interior minister Sajid Javid, who made the decision to revoke Begum’s citizenship, welcomed the court’s ruling. He stated that home secretaries should have the power to prevent individuals assessed as threats from entering the country. The government suggested that Begum could seek a Bangladeshi passport based on family ties, but her family argued that she was from the UK and never held a Bangladeshi passport.
The court’s decision has sparked disappointment among campaigners who believe that Begum should be prosecuted in a British court if she has committed a crime, rather than having her citizenship stripped. Maya Foa, director of the Reprieve human rights campaign group, stated that the government holds the key to solving the issue and urged them to take responsibility.
The ruling has left Begum’s fate uncertain, with the possibility of further legal challenges or an appeal to the Supreme Court. As the case continues to unfold, the debate surrounding citizenship stripping and the handling of individuals who joined extremist groups as minors remains a contentious issue in the UK.