Strasbourg judges have demanded answers on whether the UK broke human rights and anti-trafficking laws when then-home secretary Sajid Javid revoked her citizenship in 2019. But Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has vowed to fight European judges over Begum’s return bid, insisting the Government would continue to defend its position.
Earlier this week, Ms Mahmood said: « The case against Shamima Begum has been litigated by the previous Government all the way to the UK Supreme Court, who did not hear the last appeal on this because all legal questions have been now dealt with. » Responding, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told the Daily Express: « Shamima Begum chose to go to Syria and support Daesh which is a murderous, violent terrorist regime who brutally murdered their opponents and raped thousands of women and girls.
He added: « People who support that kind of organisation are not welcome in the UK. It’s deeply worrying the European Court of Human Rights is now looking at using the ECHR to make the UK take her back. The government must fight to keep her out of the country. This case is a further reason why we need to leave the ECHR. »
Begum’s lawyers have branded the court’s formal communication an « unprecedented opportunity » to overturn the citizenship decision. The move could lead to a showdown between Strasbourg, who believes Begum’s human rights may have been breached, and the UK Government.
Begum grew up in Bethnal Green, east London, before travelling to Syria at the age of 15 in 2015 to join the Islamic State. She married a Dutch Islamic convert and had three children, all of whom died in infancy.
Mr Javid stripped her of British citizenship on the basis that she could also claim citizenship in Bangladesh so would not be stateless, a decision later upheld by the UK’s Supreme Court. Now 26, Begum is still living in the al-Roj camp in Syria, which is home to thousands of former jihadis, after losing all of her appeals in British courts.
The ECHR’s final rulings are technically binding, but there is no enforcement mechanism – raising the prospect of a constitutional showdown between the Labour Government and Strasbourg.
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