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ISIS bride Shamima Begum loses bid to regain UK citizenship
Feb 23 - Shamima Begum, the London-born Bangladeshi-origin woman, who fled the UK as a 15-year-old schoolgirl to join the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist network, on Friday lost yet another legal bid to regain her British citizenship and return to the UK.
The ruling means the 24-year-old must remain in Syria. The government stripped her citizenship on national security grounds in 2019.
Ms Begum left London nine years ago aged 15 to travel to Syria and join Islamic State group, or IS.
The ruling by three appeal judges was unanimous. It could still be challenged in the Supreme Court by Ms Begum.
Her solicitor, Daniel Furner said that her legal team was "not going to stop fighting until she does get justice and until she is safely back home".
However the judges wholly dismissed all of Ms Begum's arguments - a highly significant rejection that could affect her ability to gain a full appeal at the Supreme Court.
Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr said: "It could be argued the decision in Ms Begum's case was harsh. It could also be argued that Ms Begum is the author of her own misfortune.
"But it is not for this court to agree or disagree with either point of view.
"Our only task is to assess whether the deprivation decision was unlawful. We have concluded it was not, and the appeal is dismissed."
Ms Begum's lawyers went to the Court of Appeal after losing a hearing last year. They argued that the Home Office's decision to remove her citizenship was unlawful, in part because British officials failed to properly consider whether she was a potential victim of trafficking.
Sir James Eadie KC, for the Home Office, said the "key feature" in the case was national security.
"The fact that someone is radicalised, and may have been manipulated, is not inconsistent with the assessment that they pose a national security risk," he said.
The ruling represents a substantial victory for the government and averts a potential legal crisis: were the decision to be reversed, home secretaries would in future need to balance national security considerations with questions of whether someone is a victim.
Responding to the court's decision, the Home Office said it was "pleased" at Friday's ruling, adding that its "priority remains maintaining the safety and security of the UK".
A spokeswoman for the prime minister said the government would "always take the strongest possible action to protect our national security", adding that it never took decisions to remove citizenship lightly.
Outside court, however, Ms Begum's solicitors said that it was very likely they would ask the Supreme Court to get involved. A response however could take up to a year.
Gareth Peirce, of Ms Begum's legal team, said the UK was under a moral duty to take Ms Begum back, as other nations had with citizens found in Syria.
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