A woman who was stripped of her British citizenship after fleeing London to marry an Islamic State fighter in Syria has now earned the right to return to her former home to question the decision.
Shamima Begum, now 20, was one of three East London schoolgirls who traveled to Syria to join the terror group as a jihadist girlfriend in 2015. Her British citizenship was revoked a year ago over national security concerns after They found her living in a Syrian refugee camp, but UK senior judges ruled Thursday that she should be allowed to return there in her ongoing fight to regain that status.
“Equity and justice must, on the facts of this case, overcome national security concerns, so that authorization to file appeals is allowed,” said Sky News, Lord Justice Julian Flaux of the Court of Appeals, adding that “National security concerns about her could be addressed and managed if she returns to the UK.”
This undated photo shows Shamima Begum, one of three East London schoolgirls who traveled to Syria in 2015 to join the Islamic State terror group. (AP)
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His lawyer Daniel Furner praised the ruling and said that his client, who wants to live in the UK again and has argued that being stateless is a health risk, “is not afraid to face British justice.”
“Justice cannot be defeated, or indefinitely delayed, because a case is difficult or because national security is compromised,” he added, according to Sky News. “Fundamental rights are not extinguished because a person is abroad or because the accusations against her are serious.”
But the UK government denounced the ruling on Thursday, and the Home Office said it is considering an appeal as its “highest priority remains to maintain our national security and protect the public.”
Sajid Javid, the former Interior Minister who made the decision to remove Begum’s citizenship, also issued a statement to Sky News asking why his appeal could not be handled online.
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“Allowing her, and indeed other terrorists, to return to the UK to file an appeal would create a national security risk that cannot be fully mitigated, even with the diversion of significant resources,” he added.
Begum’s attempt to claim his citizenship was initially rejected by an immigration court in February.
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission, which hears national security cases, said it could instead go to Bangladesh to obtain citizenship.
However, his lawyer argued that Begum, who is of British-Bangladeshi descent, “was not considered a citizen of Bangladesh and was therefore stateless due to the decision of deprivation,” Sky News reported.
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In an interview with the station, Begum said she married a Dutch ISIS fighter named Yago Riedijk three weeks after reaching his self-described caliphate.
She added that she was “just a housewife” during her four years living among the terrorist group and that she had three children while in the Middle East, all of whom have since died.
Sky News reported last year that Begum wants to return to the UK for therapy in connection with those deaths.
He also told the London Times that the terrorist group “brainwashed” him to believe everything they said.
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“I sat down and thought how long I would have to stay here. And I have accepted that I will have to stay here, I will have to make this a second home, ”he told the London Times.
“Since I left Baghouz [a previously ISIS-held territory in Syria] I really regretted everything I did, and I feel like I want to go back to the UK to have a second chance to start my life again. They brainwashed me. “
Fox News’ Robert Gearty contributed to this report.
