Shamima Begum has been a polarising figure ever since she first entered the public eye in 2015. As part of the Bethnal Green trio, she travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, better known as ISIS, at the age of just 15. Her two companions, Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase, were both dead by the end of 2016.
On 22 February 2023, Begum lost her appeal against the decision to strip her of her British citizenship, a decision taken by the then Home Secretary Sajid Javid in 2019. Why was she stripped of her citizenship in the first place, and what were the grounds for her appeal?
Soon after joining ISIS, Begum became a child bride. She married Yago Riedijk, a Dutch-born member of the terrorist group. This marriage would give them three children. The Telegraph reported that she was involved in recruiting other young women to join ISIS and was a member of the group’s ‘morality police’, with duties such as enforcing dress codes for women. Witness statements also claim that Begum had stitched explosive vests onto suicide bombers, which Begum firmly denied.
By 2019, ISIS had lost almost all its territory in Syria and Iraq, and Begum had fled to a refugee camp in northern Syria. In February that year, shortly before the birth of her third child, she expressed a desire to return to the UK to raise him. Her first two children had died, likely due to poor living conditions and sanitation. In various media interviews, she stressed that life in the UK was her best hope for her son to not meet the same fate. Having failed to return to the UK, the baby died the following month.
These interviews sparked widespread public hatred. She expressed sorrow for the loss of innocent lives in the Manchester Arena bombing yet believed it was justified as retaliation for innocent lives lost in ISIS. Despite showing disdain for the corruption and oppression she had seen in Syria, she crucially failed to express her regret for joining ISIS when questioned.
On 19 February 2019, Sajid Javid, as Home Secretary, revoked Shamima Begum’s British citizenship. He faced accusations of acting to bolster his own political reputation amid Theresa May’s turbulent premiership. A Tory leadership election was announced the following month, with Javid throwing his hat into the ring. In a 2021 interview, Javid reaffirmed his decision to revoke Begum’s citizenship, emphasising that classified evidence would lead any sensible person to believe that she posed a risk to national security. Under the British Nationality Act 1981, the Home Secretary can take this action, if depriving an individual of citizenship is ‘conducive to public good’. The same legislation also dictates that such action cannot be taken if it would leave the individual stateless.
The government claims that Begum also holds Bangladeshi citizenship due to her Bangladeshi-born parents. Citizenship law in Bangladesh states that this would only be the case if Begum’s birth had been registered with a Bangladeshi embassy. In 2018, Bangladesh’s foreign minister threatened the death penalty if Begum were to enter Bangladesh.
Mohammed Akunjee, a lawyer for the Begum family, bitterly rebuked Javid when outlining plans for an appeal. He accused Javid of ‘human fly-tipping’, as the government failed to ‘deal with British problems’, instead passing the responsibility to Bangladesh. An appeal against this decision was filed with the Special Immigration Appeals Commission. The grounds for appeal included a lack of consideration that Begum was trafficked, that she does not pose a national security risk and that the Home Secretary’s decision left her stateless. The appeal was to determine if Javid’s actions had been lawful.
In her most recent interviews, sporting more western clothing, Begum has claimed she ‘would rather die than go back to ISIS’, and that she will ‘regret joining ISIS for the rest of her life’. She would accept any criminal proceedings that would greet her in the UK.
On 22 February 2023, the Commission dismissed Begum’s appeal. Despite credible weight to the case for trafficking, the national security threat posed meant Javid had acted lawfully.
Reactions to the dismissal have been visceral. Human rights groups and senior politicians have decried the ruling as racially motivated and shameful. Both Javid and the current Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, have applauded the Commission’s decision. Begum’s lawyers say the fight is far from over.
This complex saga can be interpreted in many ways. For many, Shamima Begum is a culpable terrorist and should suffer the consequences, but for some those consequences would be a criminal case, not a life of exile. For others, she was a victim of indoctrination and is now a refugee who is deprived of the basic human right of citizenship by a hard-headed Government. Either way, it is certain that we will hear the name Shamima Begum again; she and the issues her case raise will not go away.
Image: BBC