Removal of Shamima Begum's UK citizenship 'lawful,' judges rule

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) – The British judges ruled on Wednesday that the removal of UK citizenship of Shamima Begum, who joined Daesh/ISIS in 2015, was "lawful."

Begum lost her appeal against the UK government who revoked her British citizenship when the Special Immigration Appeals Commission gave its decision.

The commission rejected Begum's appeal on all grounds and ruled that she cannot return to the UK.

The 23-year-old woman still remains in a refugee camp in northern Syria.

In 2021, the UK Supreme Court ruled that Begum, who lost her citizenship because she joined Daesh/ISIS in 2015, should not be allowed to return to the country to legally fight for her citizenship.

Dubbed a "Daesh bride" for having left the UK to marry a member of the terror group, Begum lost the first stage of her court appeal against the Home Office's decision to strip her of British citizenship, which was revoked on national security grounds after she was found in a Syrian refugee camp in 2019.

Fifteen years old at the time of her departure from London, Begum is of Bangladeshi origin. Before the decision, she held a UK citizenship but not of Bangladesh.

The government argued that as Begum is of Bangladeshi origin, she is thus eligible for Bangladeshi citizenship by descent under that country's law and thus cannot be considered stateless.

She lived in Daesh/ISIS-controlled areas for three years, marrying a Dutch foreign fighter. She had lost two children and a third one shortly after birth.