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Shamima Begum would be beaten or held in isolation in the Syrian detention camp where she is being held if she talks on a mobile phone with British lawyers challenging her deprivation of UK citizenship, the London High Court has been informed.
The woman who left Britain as a 15-year-old schoolgirl in 2015 to join the forces of the Islamic State, is unable to communicate effectively with her legal team and will not be able to participate in any meaningful way in the proceedings while in captivity, the court heard.
Addressing the Supreme Court, Lord Pannick QC, representing Begum, said that the Kurdish authorities in al-Roj camp “do not allow detainees to use their phones.” Those captured, he added, are “isolated, separated from their children and beaten.”
Pannick said her attorney, Daniel Furner, had managed to make some contact for basic instructions, but that the lines of communication were inadequate for her to engage in the detailed factual issues that will be raised in any substantive hearing challenging her loss of Citizenship. from United Kingdom.
Pannick said Furner “will need to contact her to discuss any points that come up in the discussion at the hearing … It requires more detailed instructions. It has not been able to provide detailed factual responses. “
Although journalists were allowed onto the field, Pannick said, lawyers were denied access.
A summary of a 2019 Interior Ministry assessment delivered to the court acknowledged that “if Begum learned of the deprivation [of citizenship] decision while in al-Hawl [another camp where she was previously held] It is difficult to see how you could effectively exercise your appeal from there.
“… Begum apparently has no immediate prospects of leaving al-Hawl, traveling to the UK or elsewhere to pursue the appeal more effectively.”
Pannick told the five Supreme Court justices that Begum, now 21, needed to be able to participate in the hearing for it to be conducted fairly. “One function of procedural fairness is to uphold the rule of law,” he said. “It is to ensure that the [home secretary] you are applying proper standards that can stand up to scrutiny.
“The procedural fairness requirements cannot be overridden by national security without an express legal provision.”
The court read excerpts from an official report dating from April 2019, which said that of 900 people who traveled to Syria to participate in the conflict, about 20% had died and 40% had returned home. He continued: “All have been investigated and most have been assessed to pose little or no security risk.”
Pannick said: “What degree of threat, if any, will Ms. Begum pose upon her return? [needs to be investigated] in the circumstances of your case. Sir james [Eadie QC for the Home Office] he is asking the court to assume the worst when the purpose of the appeal is to determine the facts. “
Pannick added: “The court should not assume that Ms. Begum will be in the category of those who pose the most serious threat upon her return or that the TPIM [terrorism prevention and investigation measures] and prosecution would be inadequate to protect this country from her when she returns. “
Tom Hickman QC, who also represents Begum, said she was at risk of being transferred to Iraq, where she would face ill-treatment or possibly the death penalty.
The hearing continues.
