Shamima's statelessness: Rushanara against revoking someone's UK citizenship
I do not believe it is right for the UK government, she said adding that this was at heart a political decision, not one anchored in the rule of law, and it set a dangerous precedent
British lawmaker Rushanara Ali has said it is not right for the UK government to remove someone's UK citizenship based on their parent's country of origin.
"I do not believe it is right for the UK government....," she said adding that this was at heart a political decision, not one anchored in the rule of law, and it set a dangerous precedent.
In these times, Rushanara said, it is vital that the rule of law is fully applied.
The British Court of Appeal on Thursday ruled that ISIS bride Shamima Begum could be allowed to come to the UK to appeal against the removal of her British citizenship, reports The Independent.
In her statement on the court ruling regarding her former constituent Shamima Begum, the Bangladesh-origin British MP said the only way to deal with this complex legal case is through courts, and under British law, and under the international laws agreed between democratic countries.
"The Court of Appeal has judged that Shamima Begum may return to the UK to appeal the decision by the then-Home Secretary to remove her British citizenship. The UK Government now has the right to appeal to the Supreme Court, which may overturn the judgment," Rushanara said adding that this is a lengthy legal process, and far from over.
She said Shamima Begum should be returned to the UK, arrested, and placed in custody, and she should then stand trial in the UK.
"We cannot leave it to failed states like Syria to deal with international terrorism alone. We have a duty to act to bring to justice those who join terrorist organisations," Rushanara said.
She said they also have a duty to protect other young people in the country from terrorist organisations who have deployed tactics, including online radicalisation, to protect them from going down the same terrible path as Shamima Begum and her associates.
"That means reforming the prevent strategy to make it more effective, boosting our wider counter-terrorism efforts to disrupt terror groups' activities inside prisons and in wider society," Rushanara said.
Shamima's citizenship was revoked by the Home Office on security grounds as she was found in a refugee camp last year.
Shamima, 20, is currently in Camp Roj in Northern Syria.
In February 2015, Shamima left her home with two other teenagers, Kadiza Sultana, then 16, and Amira Abase, then 15, and travelled to Syria to join ISIS.
She was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp. Later, she gave birth to a baby boy, who died later.
The then British home secretary, Sajid Javid, stripped her of her British citizenship later that month.
However, Shamima Begum's lawyers appealed the decision.
Her lawyers also accused the government of making her stateless and exposing her to the risk of death or inhuman and degrading treatment.
They appealed to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) but it ruled the move lawful and said Shamima had not been made stateless.
The Court of Appeal on Thursday granted Shamima permission to launch a judiciary review against that decision.
"Ms Begum should be allowed to come to the United Kingdom to pursue her appeal albeit subject to such controls as the Secretary of State deems appropriate," it added.
Questions had also risen in Bangladesh about Shamima's citizenship as her father was once a Bangladeshi.
However, Bangladesh has nothing to do with Shamima, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said in February.
He also said that Shamima is neither a Bangladeshi citizen nor a dual citizen of the two countries.
Her father was once a Bangladeshi and then took the British citizenship. But they never applied for dual nationality with Bangladesh.
