The UK Supreme Court ruled on Friday that a British-born woman who went to join ISIS as a schoolgirl in CSI posed a security risk and would not be allowed to return to Britain to fight for her citizenship.
Shamima Begum, now 21, left London in 2015 at the age of 15 and traveled to Syria with two school friends, according to a Reuters report.
She later lived in Raqqa, the caliph’s self-proclaimed capital, and was married to an ISIS fighter. She had three children after leaving Britain, but all subsequent infants have died, the outlet noted.
Begum was stripped of her British citizenship in 2019 due to national security concerns. However, the court ruled last year that she could only make a proper appeal if she was allowed to return to Britain.
Friday’s decision means he will have to appeal against his move to citizenship from abroad.
“The right to a hearing will not take into account all other things, such as the safety of the people,” said Supreme Court Speaker Robert Reid. “If an important public interest makes it impossible to hold a fair hearing of a case, then the courts cannot normally hear.”
Reid said his appeal should be stayed until he is in a safe position to participate in his case without putting himself in public danger.
“It’s not a perfect solution, as it wasn’t possible to know how long it would be before it was possible. But there is no right solution to the current kind of confusion. ‘
She said she wanted to “clarify her name” and told Sky News that she did not know what she was doing when she left.
Begum is currently being held in a daily camp run by Syrian Kurdish officials.
Earlier this month, United Nations human rights experts called on 57 states, including the UK, to repatriate their citizens held in the Rose and Al Hall camps.
Officials said the conditions of the camps, which have a population of more than 65,000, were “deteriorating security” and “horrendous”.
“The conditions and treatment of thousands of people in the camps expose them to violence, exploitation, abuse and deprivation which is tantamount to torture or other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment under international law, which has no effective remedy. An unknown number of people have died as a result of their detention, the UN Human Rights Commission said in a statement.
Maya Foa, director of the human rights group Reprieve, told the BBC that preventing Begum from returning to the UK was “a shameless move to fulfill someone’s responsibility”.
“Abandon them in a legal black hole – In situations like Guantanamo – the step is in line with British values and the interests of justice and security, “Foa said.
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