The Shamima Begum Case: A National and Legal Conundrum
Shamima Begum left the UK at the age of 15 in 2015 to join the Islamic State in Syria. In 2019, Sajid Javid, then Home Secretary, stripped her of her UK citizenship citing security concerns, a move backed by 76% of the public at the time. Despite this, a November 2025 poll found that about two-thirds of people still believe Begum should not be allowed to return to the UK.
The case has recently garnered further attention with the intervention of the European Court of Human Rights, which questioned whether Begum had been trafficked. In response, the current Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, reportedly intends to push back against this argument.
In November 2025, a report from a commission of senior UK lawyers described the government’s refusal to repatriate British nationals held in camps for former Islamic State members and their families as untenable. It estimates that between 55 and 72 individuals with links to the UK remain in these camps under inhuman conditions, including 30 to 40 children. While other countries have taken steps to repatriate their citizens, the UK has not pursued accountability for Begum's actions, reflecting a complex perception of her as a product of her home country.
Legally, the citizenship-revocation framework mandates that the loss of citizenship relate to fraud or being connected with serious crimes such as terrorism or war crimes. Complicating the matter, Bangladesh has rejected Begum's claim to citizenship, raising the prospect of statelessness should the UK revoke her citizenship. This contrasts with cases like that of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, whose citizenship could not be revoked due to his mother's UK birth, highlighting inconsistencies in the application of citizenship laws.
Political debates continue, with some Conservative and Reform UK members advocating for extending citizenship-stripping powers to dual nationals or migrants, signaling a potential shift in policy. Analysts argue over whether citizenship should be viewed as an absolute right or a conditional status, with Begum’s case illustrating the difficult and politically risky nature of making principled decisions in this arena.
