"Return the Revoked Citizenship"… UK 'IS Bride' Loses Appeal Trial as Well

Married an IS Member After Crossing to Syria at Age 15
Government: "Maintaining UK Safety and Security Is a Priority"

A woman who left the UK at age 15, married a member of the Islamic extremist terrorist organization Islamic State (IS), and was stripped of her British citizenship has lost again in an appeal court challenging the decision.

On the 23rd (local time), BBC and The Times reported that the UK Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed the claims of Shamima Begum (24), known as the so-called 'IS bride,' by three judges. Begum filed a lawsuit last year challenging the decision of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), but ultimately lost again. The court stated, "We agree with SIAC's decision that stripping Begum of her citizenship was lawful," and dismissed the appeal. SIAC mainly handles objections related to forced deportation, entry bans, and citizenship revocation concerning national security. The court explained, "Begum may have been influenced or manipulated by others, but her decision to leave for Syria and sympathize with IS was a calculated one," adding, "No illegality in the citizenship revocation is recognized."

Photo of Shamima Begum, the 'IS bride' who crossed over to Syria at the age of 15 and married an IS member [Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

Begum, a British citizen of Bangladeshi descent, left London in February 2015 at age 15 with two school friends and went to Syria, where she married a Dutch IS member. She was found in February 2019 in a Syrian refugee camp while nine months pregnant. Subsequently, the UK government revoked her citizenship citing national security reasons. She is currently held indefinitely in a Syrian refugee camp. Begum's lawyer said, "We will continue to fight until she safely returns home from the Syrian refugee camp." Begum may appeal the Court of Appeal's ruling to the Supreme Court.

The UK Home Office, which previously revoked Begum's citizenship, welcomed the ruling, stating, "Maintaining the safety and security of the UK is a priority." BBC viewed the Court of Appeal's complete dismissal of Begum's claims as a substantial victory for the government. Begum sparked public outrage when she said in a February 2019 media interview that she did not regret joining IS, leading the UK Home Office to revoke her citizenship on national security grounds.

Begum argued to SIAC that revoking her citizenship would render her stateless, making the decision illegal, and requested permission to enter the UK. However, this objection was dismissed in February 2020. SIAC judged that Begum was not stateless at the time of the Home Office's decision because she theoretically retained Bangladeshi citizenship until her 21st birthday. Subsequently, Begum requested to be allowed to appeal in the UK; the Court of Appeal accepted this in 2020, but the Supreme Court overturned it in 2021.

Begum then claimed that the Home Office's decision was illegal because it was made without investigating whether she was a minor victim of human trafficking, and requested SIAC again to allow her to return to the UK for trial. Last year, SIAC found her claim of being a minor trafficking victim credible but ruled that the fact she posed a security threat remained unchanged, and thus the decision to revoke her citizenship was not illegal.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.