British court declines to restore citizenship of woman who joined ISIS as teen

Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Shamima Begum, a British woman who traveled to Syria to join the Islamic State as a teenager nine years ago, lost an appeal to regain her citizenship after a unanimous decision by an appeals court.

The court's three judges ruled unanimously against granting the appeal, dismissing all five of the grounds for appeal presented by attorneys for Begum, now 24.

"It could be argued that the decision in Miss Begum's case was too harsh," Judge Sue Carr said. "It could also be argued that Miss Begum is the author of her own misfortune. But it is not for this court to agree or disagree with either point of view."

Appeals judges in London said they were left to judge whether citizenship revocation was legal and not to relitigate the case.

Carr said then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid's decision to revoke her citizenship after she left for Syria at the age of 15 was lawful as she held Bangladeshi citizenship when he made the ruling in 2019, rejecting her lawyer's argument that the decision left her stateless.

The judges also ruled that Javid was within his power to dismiss concerns that she was a victim of child trafficking and that the removal of her citizenship didn't violate equality laws on the grounds that British Muslims disproportionately face the threat of losing citizenship, citing exceptions for national security threats.

Attorney James Eadie, representing the Home Office, said that Begum's national security risk cannot be excused because she was a teenager when she left Britain for Syria.

"The fact that someone is radicalized and may have been manipulated is not inconsistent with the assessment that they pose a national security threat," he said.

Begum's supporters claim she was a trafficking victim of the Islamic State at 15 while opponents say she left to join the militant group in Syria of her own free will and is now a security risk.

Daniel Furner, Begum's attorney said he plans to keep fighting for Begum's return to Britain, hinting that he may appeal the decision to the country's High Court.

"[I'm] not going to stop fighting until she does get justice and until she is safely back home," Furner said.

Begum was permitted to return to Britain in 2020 to fight for her citizenship after she had been held in a detention camp run by the Syrian Democratic forces after marrying a militant fighter and giving birth to three children, all of whom have since died.