A woman whose UK citizenship was revoked after traveling to Syria to join the ISIL group (ISIS) should be able to return home to challenge the decision, a court ruled.
The decision came Thursday, months after 20-year-old Shamima Begum lost the first stage of her case on the legality of the government’s decision at the Special Commission on Immigration Appeals (SIAC) in February.
Three high-ranking judges in the Court of Appeal said on Thursday: “Ms Begum should be allowed to come to the UK to continue her appeal, even if she is subject to such controls as the (home secretary) deems appropriate.”
Begum was 15 when she and two other Bethnal Green schoolgirls in East London left their home to join the armed group on February 17, 2015.
She claims that she married a Dutch convert shortly after arriving in ISIL-controlled territory. She was discovered, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019.
Her newborn baby died shortly after she gave birth. Two of her other children also died under ISIL rule.
Then Home Secretary Sajid Javid annulled Begum’s British citizenship for national security reasons after a protest led by the right-wing media.
Begum’s legal action
That led her to take legal action, arguing that the decision was illegal, made her stateless and exposed her to the risk of death or inhuman and degrading treatment.
Begum, born in the United Kingdom, is of Bangladeshi heritage. But Bangladesh’s foreign minister said he would not consider granting him citizenship.
Daniel Furner, Begum’s lawyer, said his client “never had a fair chance to give his side of the story,” making the government’s decision unfair.
Human rights group Liberty also welcomed the decision and said: “The right to a fair trial is not something that the government can take away on a whim.”
“It is a fundamental part of our justice system and equal access to justice must apply to everyone,” he said.
The Interior Ministry called the ruling “disappointing” and said it would seek permission to appeal.
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