London, 23 Feb – Today's decision by the Court of Appeal to uphold the removal of Shamima Begum's British citizenship is a deeply disappointing outcome, setting a troubling precedent for the treatment of people and families stripped of their rights by the country where they have lived for most of their lives – without trial and with virtually no opportunities for justice.
Begum brought the appeal under five grounds, including that she was a victim of trafficking. With the loss of her appeal, Begum will now remain in Syria with no chance of returning to the UK.
Begum was lured from her home in East London in 2015 as a child and travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State, which led to the removal of her citizenship in 2019 on national security grounds. Despite facing challenges and seeking legal redress, the Court of Appeal's ruling upholds the deprivation of her citizenship, a decision with far-reaching implications for similar cases.
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) previously acknowledged "credible suspicion" that Begum was trafficked for "sexual exploitation," hinting at potential victimhood. However, despite this, she was denied the opportunity to return to the UK to challenge the decision. The Home Office's argument that she could become a citizen of Bangladesh, despite never having visited the country and Bangladesh refusing to accept her as a citizen, raises serious concerns about the approach to statelessness in the UK.
In the meantime, Begum and other British citizens and former citizens – including children – have been exposed to conditions in camps in northeast Syria that RSI has found amount to torture, as well as a real risk of maiming or death. The UK has also become an outlier among European countries, refusing to repatriate its citizens and former citizens to safety.
‘This is a deeply disappointing decision from the Court of Appeal to uphold the removal of Begum's British citizenship – a permanent, life-altering move that leaves her exposed to torturous and life-threatening conditions in an unstable and violent camp’, said Sabah Hussain, Migration and Citizenship Lead at RSI. ‘ The failure to recognise the realities of statelessness and the disregard for due process highlight the urgent need for reforms to the UK's deprivation legislation."
The negative outcome underscores the importance of advocating for reforms to laws that may lead to statelessness and emphasises the critical need for a more just and humane approach to citizenship deprivation in the UK, including – but not only – for people who were trafficked out of the country as children and/or who are living in conditions of torture.
RSI will continue its efforts to address the shortcomings in the current legal framework.
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