A girl who was stripped of her British citizenship after leaving the nation as a young person to marry an Islamic State fighter misplaced her attraction towards the choice on Friday.
London’s Court docket of Attraction rejected all 5 arguments from Shamima Begum, 24, though she might nonetheless take the case to the Excessive Court docket.
“You possibly can argue that the choice in Miss Begum’s case was harsh, however you can additionally argue that Miss Begum is the writer of her personal misfortune,” Decide Sue Carr mentioned as she handed down the choice.
“However it isn’t for this court docket to agree or disagree with both place. Our solely process is to evaluate whether or not the confiscation determination was illegal. We concluded that this was not the case and the attraction was dismissed,” she added.
Begum, whose household is of Bangladeshi descent, was 15 years outdated when she left her residence in east London with two faculty buddies for Syria in 2015.
Whereas there, she married an IS fighter and had three kids, none of whom survived.
Begum took her case towards the revocation of her citizenship to the attraction court docket in October final yr.
Her authorized workforce argued that the federal government had failed to contemplate its authorized duties to Begum as a possible sufferer of human trafficking.
However the court docket dominated on Friday that the danger to nationwide safety took priority over whether or not she had been a possible sufferer of human trafficking.
In February 2019, Begum mentioned she was left stateless when then British House Secretary Sajid Javid revoked her citizenship on nationwide safety grounds after she was present in a Syrian refugee camp.
Nevertheless, the attraction court docket mentioned that Begum had not develop into stateless as a result of she retained Bangladeshi citizenship by means of her mom, and that the federal government didn’t have to contemplate whether or not Bangladeshi authorities would permit her to enter the nation.
– Begum to problem determination –
Her legal professionals additionally argued that the federal government ought to have knowledgeable her upfront of the choice to revoke her citizenship.
The attraction court docket rejected the argument, saying it might permit the individual “a preventive return to the UK”.
The attraction was towards the February 2023 determination of the Particular Immigration Appeals Fee (SIAC) to uphold the revocation of her citizenship.
Friday’s ruling means Begum can’t return to Britain from her present residence, a refugee camp in northern Syria.
After the listening to, her legal professional Daniel Furner vowed that “we won’t cease combating till she will get justice and till she is residence secure,” suggesting they may make a ultimate attraction to the nation’s highest court docket.
Begum is considered one of a whole bunch of Europeans whose destiny has examined governments following the collapse of Islamist extremists’ self-proclaimed caliphate in 2019.
Begum’s lawyer instructed the SIAC listening to that her shopper, alongside together with her buddies, had been “influenced” by a “decided and efficient” “propaganda machine” of the IS group.
The attraction court docket accepted that Begum “could have been influenced and manipulated by others”, however added that she “might nonetheless have made a calculated determination to journey to Syria”.
It’s estimated that round 900 individuals have traveled from Britain to Syria and Iraq to affix the IS group. In response to authorities figures, about 150 of them are believed to have misplaced their citizenship.
