Teenager who joined IS to lose British citizenship

LONDON >> Britain has said that it is revoking the citizenship of Shamima Begum, a teenager who four years ago fled to become an “IS bride” and has attracted widespread public attention for her effort to return home with her new baby.

The government’s decision came as the Islamic State was losing the last of its territory in Syria and countries across Europe are struggling with what to do about their citizens who went to fight on behalf of the terrorist group.

The British Home Office informed Begum’s family members of its decision in a letter Tuesday and asked them to make their daughter aware of the potential for her to appeal.

“It’s kind of heartbreaking to read,” a teary Begum, 19, told an ITV News reporter who showed her a copy of the letter. “My family made it sound like it would be a lot easier for me to come back to the U.K. when I was speaking to them in Baghouz. It’s kind of hard to swallow.”

Begum is living in a Syrian refugee camp, where she gave birth to a boy last weekend. Her baby also has potential claims of British citizenship.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid told Parliament on Wednesday: “Children should not suffer, so if a parent loses their British citizenship it does not affect the rights of their child.”

Under British law, the home secretary can revoke citizenship if it is “conducive to the public good” and if it does not make a person stateless. More than 100 dual nationals were stripped of their British citizenship in 2017.

Some immigration experts have suggested that because Begum’s parents are from Bangladesh, she could claim citizenship there.

But Bangladesh said Wednesday she “is not a Bangladeshi citizen.”

“She is a British citizen by birth and never applied for dual nationality with Bangladesh,” Foreign Affairs Minister Shahriar Alam said in a statement, adding: “There is no question of her being allowed to enter into Bangladesh.”