23-year-old Shamima Begum, who flew to
Syria with two school friends to join the ISIS terror group at the age of 15,
has lost her appeal against the decision to deprive her of British citizenship
'despite a credible case she was trafficked for sexual exploitation'.
The ruling means Begum is prohibited from
returning to the UK, consequently stuck in a camp in northern Syria.
Following a five-day hearing last November,
Judge Robert Jay gave the decision on Wednesday. The ruling determines if the
removal of her citizenship was lawful, and not if she can return to the UK.
Begum flew out of Gatwick Airport with two
classmates in 2015. While in Syria, she got married to an ISIS fighter. She
then reappeared in February 2019 in a Syrian refugee camp of 39,000 people,
pleading with the UK government to return to her home country to give birth to
her son.
Speaking from the refugee camp before
giving birth, Begum told British media she had already had two other children
who died in infancy owing to malnutrition and illness.
UK's then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid
removed her British citizenship on February 19, 2019. Begum gave birth to her
son in the camp in February of that year. But the infant's health quickly
deteriorated and he passed away the following month.
Although she challenged the decision, the
British government in June 2019 refused her application for leave to enter her
home country to carry out her appeal. The following year, the UK Court of
Appeal - for the sake of "a fair and effective hearing" - ruled Begum
should be allowed to return to the UK.
However, the Supreme Court reversed that
decision in 2021, arguing the Court of Appeal had made errors.
The decision to deprive Begum of her
citizenship has drawn intense criticism from human rights campaigners and legal
experts alike who argue that the revocation compromised her right to a fair
appeal.