ISIS girlfriend Shamima Begum, the British woman who fled Syria to join the terrorist group in 2015 and quickly married one of her fighters, lost her offer on Friday to return to the UK to fight for restoration of its citizenship because it presents a security risk. .
A unanimous ruling by Britain’s Supreme Court overturned a decision by the Court of Appeal last year, which had held that Begum should be allowed to return so he could file a fair appeal in his case.
“The right to a fair hearing does not outweigh all other considerations, such as public safety,” Robert Reed, the Supreme Court president, told Reuters.
“If a vital public interest makes it impossible for a case to be heard fairly, the courts will not be able to hear it normally,” he said, adding that Begum’s appeal should be suspended until he can have a effective role in the case without endangering the public.
“This is not a perfect solution, as it is not known how long it can take before this is possible. But there is no perfect solution to such a dilemma, ”he said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed the ruling, his spokesman said, adding that the government’s priority was to “maintain our national security.”
Begum, 21, born in the UK, was 15 when he took off with two schoolgirls at Bethnal Green Academy in east London to join the terrorist group.
She married an ISIS fighter two weeks later and lived in Raqqa, the capital of the self-proclaimed caliphate. In 2019, Begum went to a refugee camp in Syria, where three of his children died.
She told reporters she wanted to return home, but former Interior Secretary Sajid Javid withdrew her from her citizenship months later, and her national intelligence agency considered her a security threat.
He argued that he was a descendant of Bangladesh and that he could go there.
Begum is now in the Al-Roj refugee camp, run by Syrian Kurdish authorities, where UN rights experts said this month that the conditions were “subhuman.”
ITV News filmed her walking around the camp, where she wore sunglasses, a jacket, a T-shirt and leggings. She declined to comment on the departure.
Human rights groups said Britain had a duty to return Begum and others in similar situations and prosecute them for any crimes they had committed, rather than leave them abroad.
“Leaving them in a legal black hole (under conditions similar to Guantánamo) is outside British values and the interests of justice and security,” Maya Foa, director of the Reprieve campaign group, told Reuters.
With publishing cables