ISIS bride Shamima Begum to launch high court appeal over UK ban and citizenship stripping

Shamima Begum’s is once again appealing to have her British citizenship restored. The most recent appeal at the Court of Appeal has been told by her team she cannot have a “fair and effective appeal” due to the public feeling around the case. 

Miss Begum who is now 20, left the UK for Syria in February 2015 where she lived for more than three years. She was one of three who travelled to Syria to join IS. The former home secretary Sajid Javid Shamima Begum of her British citizenship in February 2019.

However, Miss Begum’s case, which is being held remotely was told Begum’s QC Tom Hickman that the absence of “a fair or effective means of challenging the decision to deprive her of her British citizenship”. 

Mr Hickman QC also said : “It is a basic principle of our law that executive decisions cannot stand where the requirements of natural justice are not complied with. In the present case there is a manifest breach of natural justice”. 

Sir James Eadie QC who is representing the Home Office has said in his written submissions that: “The fact that the appellant could not fully engage with the statutory appeal procedure was a result of her decision to leave the UK, travel to Syria against Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice and align with ISIL. This led to her being held in conditions akin to detention in a foreign state at the hands of a third party, the Syrian Defence Force. It was not the result of any action by the Secretary of State and the deprivation decision did not have any causative impact on the appellant in this respect.”

Sir James QC added that throughout the process Ms Begum had been able to speak to her lawyers and that “the fact that it might not be possible to mirror the level of access to legal advice that would be available if someone were at liberty in the UK does not mean the proceedings are unfair”.