London’s Court of Appeals rejected five arguments brought by former Islamic State (ISIS) member Shamima Begum, whose citizenship was revoked in 2019.
Begum has been left stateless and resides in a refugee camp in northern Syria. She was one of an estimated 900 people who traveled from Britain to join ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
Britain’s then interior minister, Sajid Javid, revoked her citizenship and Begum lost an appeal in 2023.
She left for Syria in 2015 when she was still a minor and her legal team has argued the court failed to consider whether she was a victim of trafficking.
The court ruled on Friday that national security took precedence over whether she was a potential victim of trafficking.
Her legal team also state Begum should have been informed of the revocation of her citizenship. About 150 British citizens who joined ISIS are believed to have had their citizenship revoked.
The court has argued Begum may have retained Bangladeshi citizenship through her mother and it was not necessary to determine if the Bangladeshi authorities would accept her.
“It could be argued that the decision in Miss Begum’s case was harsh, it could also be argued that Miss Begum is the author of her own misfortune,” said judge Sue Carr.
“But it is not for this court to agree or disagree with either point of view, our only task is to assess whether the deprivation decision was unlawful. We have concluded it was not and the appeal is dismissed,” she added.
Begum can still take the case to the Supreme Court.
