Shamima Begum and her fight to regain Citizenship
Shamima Begum, left London at the age of 15 to go to Syria and join the Islamic State, when she developed an interest in the terrorist organisation IS, also known as the Islamic State, ISIS, or Daesh. In order to join the gang, she and her schoolmates Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15, flew from Gatwick Airport to Turkey. Ms Begum married Yago Riedijk, a Dutchman who had converted to Islam, just ten days after landing in the city of Raqqa.
They had three kids: a son who was born, a boy who was three months old, and a daughter who was one year old. All three subsequently passed away from illnesses or malnutrition.
In the year 2017: Ms Begum escaped Raqqa with her husband, but they were later separated when she said he had been tortured while being detained for espionage. After three years under IS rule, Raqqa was retaken by a coalition of Syrian and American forces.
In the year 2019: After declaring her intent to move back to the UK with her expectant third child, she had her British citizenship revoked. International law only judged the action legal if it prevented her from becoming stateless. She was involved in a legal dispute with the British justice system. After declaring her intent to move back to the UK with her expectant third child, she had her British citizenship revoked. International law only judged the action legal if it prevented her from becoming stateless. She was involved in a legal dispute with the British justice system.
Following Jarrah’s lung infection-related death, Labour front-runner Diane Abbott criticised the government as being “callous and heartless.” The Begum family filed a lawsuit to contest Mr Javid’s choice.
Ms Begum filed an appeal after being denied “leave to enter” authorization to visit the UK temporarily.
In the year 2020:
When she was 20, she lost her appeal and was barred from going back to London. Ms Begum should be permitted to return to the UK to contest the government’s decision, the Court of Appeals ruled.
On Feb. 20, 2021: This decision was challenged by the Government, which brought the matter before the Supreme Court for the first time.
She made a pleading for mercy and said that IS’s death of innocent people was “unjustifiable.” Her look had also altered; she was now sporting a pink manicure, a grey vest, a Casio watch, and a Nike baseball cap. According to Ms Begum, there is “no proof” that she was a significant figure in planning terrorist attacks, and she is ready to testify in court to demonstrate her innocence.
“Without attempting to investigate and ascertain, much less assess, whether she was a minor victim of trafficking and whether there were failures by public agencies in the UK to prevent her from being trafficked,” Ms Begum’s attorney stated in front of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.
On Jan. 20, 2023: She acknowledged that the public was upset with her, but argued that she wasn’t a “bad person” in the BBC audio series.
She acknowledged that many saw her “as a danger, as a risk,” but she placed the responsibility on how the media portrayed her.
February 22, 2023
Ms Begum’s attempt to have the Government’s decision to revoke her British citizenship rejected was unsuccessful. She lost her court battle to retain her British citizenship, making it impossible for her to come back to the country. In 2019, Begum lost her British citizenship due to reasons of national security. Begum, who is now 23 years old, challenged the Home Office’s decision to withdraw her citizenship, but a specialised tribunal rejected it. The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) came to the conclusion that there was “credible suspicion” that Begum was trafficked to Syria for “sexual exploitation” and those state agencies had “arguable breaches of duty” in permitting her to go there.
