The UK Supreme Court ruled on Friday that a UK-born woman who went to Syria when she was a student to join ISIS poses a security risk and will not be allowed to return to Britain to fight for her citizenship .
Shamima Begum, now 21, left London in 2015 at the age of 15 and traveled to Syria with two school friends, Reuters reported.
She later lived in Raqqa, the self-declared capital of the caliphate, and married an ISIS warrior. She has had three children since she left Britain, but all the babies have since died, the vehicle noted.
In 2019, Begum lost his British citizenship due to national security issues. However, a court ruled last year that she could only have a fair appeal if she was allowed to return to Britain.
Friday’s decision means that she will have to pursue her appeal against changing citizenship abroad.
“The right to a fair hearing does not outweigh all other considerations, such as public safety,” said Robert Reed, president of the Supreme Court. “If a vital public interest makes it impossible for a case to be heard fairly, courts cannot normally hear it.”
Reed said her appeal should have a suspension issued until she is in a safer position to participate in her case without putting the public at risk, according to Reuters.
“This is not a perfect solution, as it is not known how long it can take before it is possible. But there is no perfect solution to a dilemma of the current type, ”he said.
She said she wants to “clear her name” and told Sky News that she didn’t know what she was getting into when she left.
Begum is currently being held in the Roj camp, run by Syrian Kurdish authorities.
Earlier this month, United Nations human rights experts asked 57 states, including the United Kingdom, to repatriate their detained citizens in the Roj and Al Hol camps.
Authorities said conditions in the camps, which accommodate more than 65,000 people, are facing “deteriorating security” and horrible conditions.
“Thousands of people held in the camps are exposed to violence, exploitation, abuse and deprivation in conditions and treatment that may well constitute torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under international law, without any effective remedy for theirs. disposition. An unknown number has already died because of their conditions of detention, ”the UN Human Rights Commission said in a statement.
Maya Foa, director of the human rights group Reprieve, told the BBC that preventing Begum from returning to the UK remains “a cynical ploy to make her someone else’s responsibility.”
“Abandon them in a cool black hole – under conditions similar to those in Guantanamo – it is at odds with British values and the interests of justice and security, ”said Foa.