Shamima Begum has lost her bid to regain British citizenship, despite lawyers arguing that she was a victim of trafficking. The 23-year-old is to remain stateless, stuck in a refugee camp in northern Syria. At the same time, a video of Shamima’s interview with the BBC in 2021 has resurfaced on TikTok today and is garnering support, commenters campaigning for her to be ‘free’ from her current legal battle.
The video shows Shamima asked what she would tell her 15-year-old self knowing what she does now, to which Shamima replies ‘Don’t do it, bitch! Just don’t do it’ with a hopeless laugh, before adding ‘That’s all I would say, she wouldn’t believe me anyway, she would not have listened to me.’ The video now has over 30,000 likes.
Of course, the severity of Shamima's situation cannot go underestimated. She faces a long legal battle to return to the UK, her case fully dismissed this morning by The Special Immigration Appeals Commission. ‘The legal fight is nowhere near over,’ lawyer Daniel Furner told reporters outside the secret court where the decision to reject Shamima’s appeal was made by Mr Justice Jay.
Shamima was stripped of her British citizenship in 2019 by then-home secretary Sajid Javid, leaving her detained in a refugee camp. She was 15 when she travelled to join the then self-styled Islamic State group in 2015, her legal team making a credible case that she was a victim of trafficking. Shamima had three children with an IS fighter, all of whom have subsequently died.
Lawyers argued that the decision to remove Shamima’s citizenship was unlawful because it failed to consider whether she was a victim of child trafficking, arguing that she had been groomed by IS fighters and tricked into joining them, along with school friends.
Mr Justice Jay said in a summary ruling that The Special Immigration Appeals Commission did conclude their arguments were credible.
‘The Commission concluded that there was a credible suspicion that Ms Begum had been trafficked to Syria,’ he said in a summary ruling. ‘The motive for bringing her to Syria was sexual exploitation to which, as a child, she could not give a valid consent.’
But despite concerns, the commission concluded that the possibility of trafficking does not trump the home secretary’s legal duty to make a national security decision.
What does being stateless mean for Shamima Begum now?
The decision means that Shamima has effectively been left stateless in a dangerous, war-torn country. The British government have argued that since her father has some Bangladesh heritage, she could pursue a route there. However, according to Sky News, Shamima has never been to Bangladesh, nor does she have any current familial links there, and she could even face the death penalty there. ‘There is no plan B,’ she said when previously asked what would happen if today’s ruling became reality.
While her legal fight continues, Shamima will be forced to remain in her Syrian refugee camp. Amnesty International have called the ruling ‘very disappointing.’
‘The home secretary shouldn't be in the business of exiling British citizens by stripping them of their citizenship,’ Amnesty’s refugee and migrant rights director Steve Valdez-Symonds said. ‘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.
‘Along with thousands of others, including large numbers of women and children, this young British woman is now trapped in a dangerous refugee camp in a war-torn country and left largely at the mercy of gangs and armed groups,’ he continued. ‘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.’