Shamima Begum’s quest to return to the UK gains renewed momentum as European judges demand an explanation from Britain for revoking her citizenship. The European Court of Human Rights has officially asked the Home Office to clarify if it violated human rights and anti-trafficking laws, which form the crux of Begum’s legal argument.
Lawyers representing the former London schoolgirl view this request as an ‘unprecedented opportunity,’ potentially setting the stage for a significant legal confrontation between the UK and Strasbourg.
Begum, originally from Bethnal Green, was discovered in a Syrian refugee camp in 2019, four years after she left for ISIS-controlled areas at the age of 15. Her UK citizenship was promptly revoked by then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid, citing national security concerns, which triggered Begum’s prolonged legal battle.
In February 2023, Begum’s appeal against the citizenship revocation was dismissed after the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) deemed the decision lawful.
Her UK citizenship was immediately revoked by then-home secretary Sajid Javid on national security grounds, kickstarting a lengthy legal challenge by Begum.
She lost an appeal in February 2023 against the decision to revoke her citizenship after the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) ruled this was lawful.
Begum then lost a Court of Appeal bid in February 2024, before she was most recently denied the chance to challenge it at the Supreme Court in August 2024.
However, Begum’s lawyers warned at the time that they could still take her case to the European Court of Human Rights – which they later did.
Shamima Begum, who lived in Bethnal Green, was found in a Syrian refugee camp in 2019
Begum is still living at the al-Roj camp in Hasakah province in northern Syria (pictured in 2021)
Now, the revelation in the Daily Express today of formal communication between the UK and Strasbourg has prompted fears that Begum could eventually return to Britain.
But shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick tweeted: ‘Shamima Begum should never step foot on British soil again.
‘We can’t let a foreign court meddle in our national security.’
Former security minister Sir Ben Wallace, who was involved in the Home Office citizenship deprivation case, told the Express: ‘She went of her own free will to support a cause that doesn’t believe in any Western court.
‘She wasn’t a victim. She knowingly and freely joined ISIS and assisted them in the prosecution of their murderous campaign. She deserved to lose her citizenship.
‘The cheek of her going through a court system that she and the other terrorists would fundamentally want to destroy isn’t lost on anybody. She wanted to go there. She can stay there.’
Begum is still living at the al-Roj camp in northern Syria as her representatives at London-based Birnberg Peirce Solicitors continue to fight her case.
The Home Office has now been told by the European court to answer four questions about her citizenship.
One asks: ‘Has there been a violation of the applicant’s rights under Article 4 of the Convention by virtue of the decision to deprive her of her citizenship?’
Another says: ‘For the purposes of the Article 4 complaints made in the application, was the applicant at all material times within the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom, within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention?’
Article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights relates to ‘protection of property’, while Article 4 relates to ‘freedom from slavery and forced labour’.
A further question asks: ‘Did the Secretary of State for the Home Department’s decision to deprive the applicant of her citizenship engage her rights under Article 4 of the Convention?’
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘The Government will always protect the UK and its citizens.
‘That is why Shamima Begum – who posed a national security threat – had her British citizenship revoked and is unable to return to the UK.
Shamima Begum had her British citizenship revoked in 2019 and cannot return to the UK
Shamima Begum passes through barriers at Gatwick Airport in 2015 before fleeing to Syria
‘We will robustly defend any decision made to protect our national security.’
In October, the Government announced that extremists stripped of their British citizenship would no longer be able to regain their status after a successful first appeal as a new law came into force.
Beforehand, a person who the Government considered a threat to national security could have been released from immigration detention or returned to the UK while further appeals to stop them were ongoing.
But the new law closed this loophole so that citizenship cannot be regranted until all appeal proceedings have been completed.
Between 2018 and 2023, an average of 12 people a year were deprived of their citizenship on the grounds it was ‘conducive to the public good’.
This decision is made by the home secretary in serious cases where it is believed to be in the public interest, for reasons such as terrorism or serious organised crime.
