Shamima Begum hopes of returning to UK ‘bolstered’ by collapse of Assad regime in Syria, lawyer claims
Shamima Begum could launch a fresh legal bid to return to the UK following the fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime, it has emerged.
Tasnime Akunjee, Ms Begum’s family lawyer, says the danger faced by the 25-year-old over the future of the Syrian detention camp where she is being held “bolstered” her claim before a court.
Ms Begum, who was born and raised in east London, was stripped of her British citizenship by former home secretary Sajid Javid after she travelled to Syria, aged 15, to join Islamic State.
For at least five years she has been held at the Roj detention camp in north-eastern Syria, which is controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The future of the camp, which holds families linked to Islamic State, is now unclear after Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule was swept aside by rebel groups.
Several legal claims have so far been lodged by Ms Begum and her team in attempts to return to the UK – but all have been thrown out on the grounds of national security.
But speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Akunjee said if the Roj camp was closed, Ms Begum would be in danger and so had more of a claim for British citizenship before a court.
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Telling the publication to “watch this space”, he insisted the camp’s future was a “relevant factor” in any future court judgment.
He said: “The proportionality [argument] is bolstered [by the current situation]. It gives weight to the impact the court’s decision has had on her.”
Last year, Ms Begum lost her appeal against a decision to revoke her citizenship on national security grounds at the UK’s Special Immigration Appeals Commission.
Justices said Ms Begum could not appeal again after she lost a Court of Appeal bid in February.
The Roj camp where Ms Begum is held is one of two sprawling settlements holding families linked to Islamic State in north-east Syria, the other being Al Hol.
A Sky News dispatch from the camps earlier this year found tens of thousands of people staying in basic living conditions inside tents. Both settlements are heavily guarded by the SDF.
