Is this her little passport back to Britain?
Now lawyers say she could use her baby to return to UK on human rights grounds
ATTEMPTS to stop islamic State bride Shamima Begum from returning to the UK were in danger last night after Bangladesh refused to give her sanctuary.
The 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by Home Secretary Sajid Javid on the basis that she is automatically entitled to live in Bangladesh because her parents were born there.
But the Bangladeshi government said she does not hold dual citizenship and there is ‘no question of her being allowed to enter’ the country.
The firm refusal to accept Begum is a headache for the Home Office because international law forbids nations from making people stateless by revoking their only citizenship.
lawyers said she could use her newborn baby to get back to the UK on human rights grounds because of her responsibilities to the child.
Begum gave birth in a Syrian refugee camp two days before mr Javid revoked her citizenship.
it means that her son Jerah – apparently named after a 7th century islamic warlord – is British and has every right to travel to the UK.
and even mr Javid hinted in the Commons that her baby’s British citi- zenship would not be affected. Begum, who fled her home in Bethnal Green, east london, at 15 to join iS in 2015, begged to return following the fall of the caliphate.
Her hopes were dashed when mr Javid removed her British citizenship, saying she was Bangladeshi because of her parents’ heritage.
But last night Bangladesh foreign affairs minister Shahrial alam said: ‘The government of Bangladesh is deeply concerned that [Begum] has been erroneously identified as a holder of dual citizenship.
‘She is a British citizen by birth and never applied for dual nationality with Bangladesh.’
The Home Office revoked Begum’s citizenship on Tuesday without telling her, instead sending a letter to her mother asma.
She was told about the decision while caring for her son in the refugee camp yesterday.
She told the BBC: ‘i wasn’t born in Bangladesh, i’ve never seen Bangladesh and i don’t even speak Bengali properly.
‘i have one citizenship... and if you take that away from me, i don’t have anything. This is a life-changing decision and they haven’t even spoken to me.’
Faced with the prospect of being banned from Britain, she finally admitted making ‘ a very big mistake’ by joining iS.
in a separate interview, she said mr Javid’s decision was ‘upsetting and frustrating’.
She told iTV News. ‘my family made it sound like it would be a lot easier for me to come back to the UK.’
Begum made a direct plea to mr Javid to review her case and asked him to ‘have a bit more sympathy and understanding’.
She said: ‘i heard other [jihadi brides and fighters] are being sent back to Britain so i don’t know why my case is any different, or is it just because i was on the news four years ago?’
asked if she had a message for her family, Begum said: ‘i want to apologise a lot for what i’ve put them through but right now i really need their help to bring me back.’ The teenager said she had ignored their pleas to return home because she thought she ‘was doing the right thing’ by being a part of iS.
asif Salam, a london immigration lawyer, said she could be allowed to return because of the human rights of her boy.
mark Stephens, a human rights lawyer at Howard Kennedy, added: ‘The sins of the mother can’t be visited on the child. it may be that he is brought back to live with relatives or is put into care.’
But last night it was reported that Begum would be prevented from using her son to return. He was born before she was stripped of her citizenship, meaning he is British.
But a Home Office source told the daily Telegraph she would remain banned as ‘ once you’re deprived of your citizenship, you are not a citizen any more’.
mr Javid defended his decision. ‘We must put the security of our country first,’ he said. ‘ There must be consequences for those that back terror.’
‘She thought she was doing the right thing’