Former British citizen Shamima Begum has initiated another appeal with an aspiration of regaining her British citizenship after the prior appeal was overruled in February. This development comes as a consequence of involvement with the ISIS terrorist organization in Syria.
In 2015, the then 15-year-old left the United Kingdom and allied with ISIS, subsequently marrying a member of the organization. As part of their union, they had three children, all of whom are now deceased.
The severity of Begum’s actions led then UK Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, to strip her of her British citizenship in 2019, effectively barring her return to the United Kingdom. Subsequent to this, she was discovered residing in a Syrian refugee camp.
The contention moved to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) where Begum challenged Sajid’s decision. In early 2023, the SIAC concurred with Sajid’s actions, concluding they were within legal purview in lieu of national security advice forwarded to ministers centred on Begum’s impending threat to the United Kingdom. The ruling by SIAC meant Begum could not claim her British citizenship back, notwithstanding the suspicions raised by Justice Jay on Begum potentially being recruited, transferred, and harbored for sexual exploitation purposes.
The case has now advanced to the Court of Appeal where Begum’s legal representatives continue to insist that the Home Office had owed “legal obligations” to victims of trafficking at the time of revoking her citizenship. It was said that these were “mandatory, relevant considerations in determining whether deprivation was conducive to the public good”, and disregarding them was considered “irrational”.
Proceedings are expected to last for a three-day period and conclude this Thursday, with the court’s decision following at an unspecified later date.
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