Shamima Begum has Court of Appeal's challenge over British citizenship decision dismissed

Shamima Begum has lost the appeal against the removal of her British citizenship. Begum, now 24, had her citizenship revoked after she travelled to Syria to join terror group ISIS at the age of 15. She was found in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019.

She had intended to return to the UK but the then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid refused the return of her citizenship. In February 2020, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission ruled that the move was lawful. Begum and her lawyers appealed against the decision at the Court of Appeal, but this has now been dismissed by three judges.

Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr said: “It could be argued the decision in Ms Begum’s case was harsh. It could also be argued that Ms Begum is the author of her own misfortune. But it is not for this court to agree or disagree with either point of view. The only task of the court was to assess whether the deprivation decision was unlawful. Since it was not, Ms Begum’s appeal is dismissed.”

However, in the 42-page public judgment, Baroness Carr added: “We are not persuaded that there was any obligation on the Secretary of State to take into account the possibility that there might be a duty to investigate the circumstances of Ms Begum’s trafficking, alternatively, to consider whether any such investigation as might be required would be enhanced by her presence in this country.”

She continued: “In our judgment, SIAC was entitled to find, as the specialist tribunal established by Parliament, that the issue of whether and to what extent Ms Begum’s travel to Syria had been voluntary was within the expertise of the intelligence agencies advising the Secretary of State. Ms Begum may well have been influenced and manipulated by others but still have made a calculated decision to travel to Syria and align with Isil."