Shamina Begum to appeal against citizenship ruling

Shamina Begum to appeal against citizenship ruling

The ruling found that Begum was a "citizen of Bangladesh" at the time her British citizenship was revoked.

Shamima Begum "will immediately initiate an appeal" against a decision that revoking her British citizenship did not render her stateless, her lawyer has said.

Ms Begum, now 20, was one of three east London schoolgirls who travelled to Syria to join so-called Islamic State in February 2015.

She was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February last year, prompting then home secretary Sajid Javid to strip her of her British citizenship.

Ms Begum took legal action against the Home Office at both the High Court and the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, a specialist tribunal which hears challenges to decisions to remove someone's British citizenship on national security grounds.

Her lawyers argued that the decision was unlawful as it rendered her stateless, and said the move breached the Home Office's "extraterritorial human rights policy by exposing Ms Begum to a real risk of death or inhuman or degrading treatment".

But, in a ruling on Friday, the tribunal - led by SIAC president Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing - found that, at the time Ms Begum's British citizenship was revoked, she was "a citizen of Bangladesh by descent" and was therefore not rendered stateless.

The tribunal found that the decision did not breach the Home Office's policy on the extraterritorial application of human rights.

Published: by Radio NewsHub
Start your relationship

If you are interested in receiving bulletins from Radio News Hub or would simply like to find out more please fill in the form below. We operate on annual contracts - spread the cost is available.

We aim to get back to you within 48 hours