Shamima Begum: Stripping of UK citizenship was unlawful, lawyers say

The removal of Shamima Begum's UK citizenship successful 2019 was unlawful, her lawyers person argued.

Ms Begum's UK citizenship was stripped aft she travelled to Islamic State group-controlled Syria erstwhile she was 15.

In a proceeding challenging the decision, her ineligible squad said it ignored the information that she whitethorn person been trafficked into Syria, adding she has been "banished".

The Home Office said Ms Begum was a hazard to nationalist information successful 2019, and MI5 assesses she inactive poses a risk.

The lawsuit is being heard astatine the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), which has akin lasting to the High Court, and tin perceive nationalist information grounds successful concealed if necessary.

Lawyers for Ms Begum, present 23, has argued that - based connected the government's ain grounds - she was trafficked into Syria for intersexual exploitation successful 2015.

She was a insignificant who had been radicalised and had travelled to Islamic State-group controlled territory without telling her family, they said.

Ms Begum ran distant from location astatine the property of 15, with 2 different eastbound London schoolgirls - Kadiza Sultana, 16, and 15-year-old Amira Abase. Once there, she joined a Dutch enlistee and lived nether IS regularisation for much than 3 years.

She was recovered by the Times paper successful a Syrian exile campy successful 2019. Ms Sultana is believed to person been killed successful a Russian aerial onslaught successful Syria, according to her family's solicitor, and the whereabouts of Ms Abase are unknown.

Marrying Ms Begum disconnected to an big successful Syria was portion of the IS agenda, and MI5 knew this, her lawyer Samantha Knights KC told the court.

Ms Begum near IS territory successful 2019. Two weeks later, her UK citizenship was stripped by the past Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

Ms Knights called this determination "hugely draconian - efficaciously an exile for life", portion her workfellow Dan Squires KC described it arsenic "permanent banishment" from the UK.

The lawyers said the authorities should person considered whether she had been trafficked into IS territory earlier deciding to instrumentality distant her citizenship.

They besides argued the Home Office had not decently considered the effect taking distant Ms Begum's citizenship mightiness person connected the wider Muslim assemblage and different minorities successful the UK. Mr Squires said for immoderate radical British citizenship is someway "conditional connected their bully behaviour".

The ineligible squad besides suggested that Mr Javid had "made up his mind" to instrumentality distant the citizenship earlier seeing each the authoritative documentation.

In a statement, Ms Begum's parent Asma Begum told the proceeding that her satellite "fell apart" erstwhile her youngest girl went to Syria, adding that she inactive thinks astir her "every hr of each day".

Many of her belongings are inactive wherever she near them, Ms Begum's parent said, including her schoolhouse blazer "still hanging connected the doorway successful the beforehand country conscionable arsenic it was erstwhile she left".

Lawyers for the Home Office volition marque their ineligible submissions connected Thursday - the 4th time of the five-day hearing.

But successful written submissions the Home Office said: "MI5 assessed that the champion mode to mitigate the menace posed to nationalist information by Ms Begum was to deprive her of her citizenship".

They went connected to say: "For completeness and for the avoidance of doubt, the information work proceed to measure that Ms Begum poses a hazard to nationalist security."

The determination to instrumentality distant Ms Begum's citizenship was made soon aft she re-emerged from territory controlled by the Islamic State radical arsenic its collapsed. MI5 assessed that she had lone fled to prevention her unborn son, aft her 2 different children had died, alternatively than due to the fact that of a determination distant from IS ideology.

In their written arguments, the Home Office lawyers concluded that this was "not a lawsuit astir trafficking", and that Mr Javid had considered Ms Begum's property and the circumstances of her question to Syria erstwhile making his decision.