A London girl of Bangladeshi descent who fled to join Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria as a 15-year-old schoolgirl in 2015 said it was "unjust" of UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid to revoke her British citizenship.
In a letter dated Feb 19, Javid wrote to Shamima Begum’s family informing them that he had made an order revoking her citizenship.
"Please find enclosed papers that relate to a decision taken by the Home Secretary, to deprive your daughter, Shamima Begum, of her British citizenship," the letter reads.
It is believed the Home Office decision is because Begum’s mother is a Bangladeshi national, which means she could apply for citizenship of that country.
Begum, now aged 19 and a new mother to a baby boy named Jarrah in a Syrian refugee camp, had urged the UK government to allow her to return, said she it was "heart-breaking" and "hard to swallow" that she would not be allowed to return to Britain.
"I am not that shocked but I am a bit shocked. It's a bit upsetting and frustrating. I feel like it's a bit unjust on me and my son," she told ‘ITV News’ channel from the camp.
She said she was weighing up her options and could try to apply for Dutch citizenship on the basis of the nationality of her ISIS-recruit husband, who is currently in prison.
“Another option I might try with my family is my husband is from Holland and he has family in Holland. Maybe I can ask for citizenship in Holland. If he gets sent back to prison in Holland I can just wait for him while he is in prison,” she said.
Under the 1981 British Nationality Act, the UK home secretary has the power to deprive a person of their citizenship if satisfied that it would be "conducive to the public good" and they would not become stateless as a result.
Begum family’s lawyer, Tasnime Akunjee, confirmed plans to legally challenge the order because the teenager did not have dual nationality and had never even visited Bangladesh.
"We are considering all legal avenues to challenge this decision… Our position is that to all practical purposes she has been made stateless," he said.
A UK Home Office spokesperson said that while it would not comment on individual cases, "any decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on all available evidence and not taken lightly".
Addressing the House of Commons on Monday, Javid had revealed that more than 100 people have been barred from entering Britain due to their status as foreigners, or by having their British citizenship stripped if they are dual nationals because they posed a security threat.
"They all supported a terrorist organisation and in doing so they have shown they hate our country and the values we stand for," he said, vowing that where individuals did manage to return, they will be "questioned, investigated and potentially prosecuted".
The government’s move to strip Begum of her citizenship has been attacked by the Opposition Labour Party, with shadow home secretary Diane Abbott calling it a failure of the UK’s security obligations and breach of human rights law.
“Potential citizenship rights elsewhere are entirely irrelevant. Our fundamental freedoms do not need to be compromised; they are perfectly compatible with our safety,” she said.
Meanwhile, an e-petition started last week since Begum’s case hit the headlines has attracted nearly 45,000 signatures calling for preventing her return to the UK.
In February 2015, Begum was a pupil of Bethnal Green Academy in east London alongside Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana when the three teenagers became on-the-run jihadi brides. In her interview from the refugee camp in Syria, she talked about losing two babies – one to malnutrition and the other to illness – an experience she says was a big shock and wants to ensure a safer environment of her third child, born last week.