Shamima Begum’s citizenship was revoked by the British Supreme Court

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The British Supreme Court on Thursday, August 8, 2024, officially restored citizenship status Shamima Begum24 years old. Through this decision, Begum now has no citizenship or is stateless.

The decision of the British Supreme Court is the same as the decision made by the British Ministry of Home Affairs. This case has become controversial among British society. Indeed, the British Home Office’s decision led to several legal challenges against the government. As a result, Begum’s case was taken to the level of the High Court, although the decision in the end remained unchanged and Begum’s British citizenship was officially revoked.

Begum was born in England to Bangladeshi parents. Theoretically, Begum should be eligible for Bangladeshi citizenship. But Begum is not having it because the Government of Bangladesh has decided that Begum will never get Bangladeshi citizenship status.

The issue of Begum’s citizenship being revoked began when she, at the age of 15, flew to Syria in 2015 to join the radical Islamic State (ISIS) group.

He left his home in Bethnal Green, east London and went to Syria with two friends. In Syria, Begum married a Dutch ISIS member named Yago Riedijk. She also gave birth to three children, but none of them survived.

When a coalition between Britain and the United States defeated ISIS, hundreds of women and children, including Begum, were picked up by Syrian Kurdish ground forces and held in refugee camps. It was discovered in the al-Hawl refugee camp in northeastern Syria in 2019 by a Times journalist. Begum told the journalist that she hoped to return to England, but did not regret her decision to join ISIS.

British citizens concerned about Begum’s situation in the refugee camp believe she deserves to return home English to face trial in his country. However, others believe that Begum has left the UK to join ISIS, so she has effectively lost her citizenship and should not return to the UK.

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At that time, the British Ministry of Home Affairs, which was responsible for dealing with this problem, admitted that it was in a difficult situation. Under international law, a person’s citizenship cannot be revoked only if doing so would make that person stateless. Furthermore, in this case Begum only has British citizenship. But in the end, the British government revoked Begum’s citizenship and said that would not allow her to return to the country.

Begum’s citizenship status was revoked when she was 19 years old. However, because the decision had pros and cons, the Begum family’s lawyers appealed to the British Court of Appeal. However, the court ruled that the revocation of Begum’s citizenship was legal and not illegal. The court said that the reason for stripping Begum of her citizenship was because of national security after she knowingly joined ISIS.

At that time, the family lawyer Begum argued that his client was a victim of human trafficking. Legal efforts were continued at the Supreme Court level, before it was decided on Thursday, August 8, 2024, that Begum’s citizenship was officially revoked.

PRINCE OF RADEN | tempo.co | theguardian.com | aljazeera.com

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