The 20-year-old Shamima Begum, who was one of three schoolgirls who left east London for joining the Islamic State in 2015, has been given permission to return to the UK and challenge the Home Office's decision of revoking her British citizenship in person.
The court of appeal to a certain degree overturned the previous ruling by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) this year, according to which she had not been illegally rendered stateless while she was staying in Syria as the 20-year-old had the right to a Bangladeshi citizenship.
Shamima Granted Permission to Fight Case in Person
Lord Justice Flaux said, "Notwithstanding the national security concerns about Ms Begum, I have reached the firm conclusion that given that the only way in which she can have a fair and effective appeal is to be permitted to come into the United Kingdom to pursue her appeal, fairness and justice must, on the facts of this case, outweigh the national security concerns," as quoted by The Guardian.
The government mentioned that it is going to appeal against the ruling and also apply for the court's judgment to be there until then. "This is a very disappointing decision by the court. We will now apply for permission to appeal this judgment, and to stay its effects pending any onward appeal," a spokesperson of the Home Office said.
Begum Found Pregnant in 2019
The 20-year-old left London for the ISIS in 2015 when the group was at its peak. She was found in a refugee camp in Syria four years after the group's territorial defeat. Begum was nine months pregnant at the refugee camp. The home secretary Sajid Javid in the month of February in 2019 stripped her of British citizenship arguing that she had the right to become a citizen of Bangladesh.
This incident triggered a high-profile legal battle in which the lawyers of Begum argued that she could not properly defend her as she was staying in a refugee camp in Syria. Her child died after Javid's decision got announced. She claimed that she had two other children who died while living under the ISIS. There are claims that Begum allegedly contributed to the ISIS by stitching suicide bombers into explosive vests.
