Campaigners have called on the UK to take “responsibility” for Shamima Begum after she lost her latest legal challenge against the decision to strip her of her British citizenship.
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) upheld a decision to revoke her of her citizenship on national security grounds. While the tribunal found there was a “credible suspicion that Ms Begum was recruited, transferred and then harboured for the purpose of sexual exploitation”, Mr Justice Jay said this did not prevent the then-home secretary Sajid Javid from removing her citizenship.
Conservative MP David Davis, a former Government minister and shadow home secretary, said the situation was a “shameful abdication of responsibility and must be remedied”.
He said: “We’re talking here about a teenage girl who was groomed online and trafficked, and she’s far from the only one in this situation. The APPG (All-Party Parliamentary Group) on Trafficked Britons in Syria’s inquiry found that UK authorities repeatedly failed to take action that could have prevented the trafficking of vulnerable British women and girls to Syria. Rather than acknowledge or address this, the Government has ignored the overwhelming evidence that they are trafficking victims."
Baroness Warsi, former co-chairwoman of the Conservative Party and a member of the House of Lords, claimed the “extreme powers” used to strip someone of their citizenship had “almost exclusively” been used against Muslims and created a “two-tier citizenship system” in the country which is “completely at odds with British values of fairness and equality before the law”. Maya Foa, director of legal charity Reprieve, said the UK “should take responsibility” for Shamima Begum as it would any other trafficked British teenager.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights director, described the ruling as a “very disappointing decision”, adding: “The Home Secretary shouldn’t be in the business of exiling British citizens by stripping them of their citizenship. The power to banish a citizen like this simply shouldn’t exist in the modern world, not least when we’re talking about a person who was seriously exploited as a child. Just as other nations have done, the UK should be helping any of its citizens stranded in Syria – including by assisting in their safe return to the UK, whether or not that means facing possible criminal investigation or prosecution.”
Devyani Prabhat, a professor at the University of Bristol Law School, said the “wide discretion” given to home secretaries to deprive someone of their British citizenship on national security grounds makes it “quite difficult to challenge this, especially when there is evidence which is secret or not publicly available” and the latest ruling “only highlights the complexity of the issues”.
Security minister Tom Tugendhat was questioned by journalist Anushka Asthana whether she was a “second class citizen” who could have her British citizenship stripped because her parents are from India. Appearing on ITV’s Peston, he replied that his mother is French “so, in theory, I could be in exactly the same position as you”.
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“It’s not a question of anybody’s race, or ethnicity, or nationality, it’s a decision that’s been taken under very careful legal advice,” he added. “There’s no first or second class citizenship in the United Kingdom.” Labour frontbencher Peter Kyle told the same programme that Ms Begum should come back to face trial so she can either be treated as a “criminal” or “an innocent”.
“We wouldn’t have objected if she was allowed to come back to face trial. I think the sadness in all of this is there’s no definitive answer to the crimes she might or might not have committed,” Mr Kyle said. “National security has to come first but it’s a real shame she will not face trial and if she is found innocent, can’t be treated as an innocent, and if she is found guilty, she won’t be treated as a criminal.”
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The Government’s priority will always be maintaining our national security and decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are not taken lightly. We will always ensure the safety and security of the UK and will not allow anything to jeopardise this.”
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