ISIL supporter Shamima Begum can return to UK for citizenship case

The UK's Court of Appeal has ruled that Shamima Begum will be allowed to return to the country to fight the government's decision to strip her of British citizenship in 2019.

Begum, 20, was one of three London schoolgirls who traveled to Syria in 2015 to join the so-called Islamic State, or ISIL, terrorist group before being found in a refugee camp by a journalist in 2019.

She has since spoken of her desire to return to the UK but the Home Office stripped her of citizenship 12 months ago after raising security concerns.

Shamima Begum, 20, was one of three London schoolgirls who traveled to Syria in 2015 to join the ISIL terrorist group in 2015. /AFP

The Home Office responded to the ruling by revealing it would "apply for permission to appeal the ruling," but it appears likely she will now be allowed back in her country of birth to fight her case.

Begum and her legal team claim the decision to strip her of citizenship was unlawful as it made her stateless and vulnerable to inhumane treatment inside the refugee camp, while denying her the chance to fight the ruling.

The UK government claimed Begum wouldn't be stateless as she also qualifies for Bangladeshi citizenship through her mother – but Bangladesh has rejected the possibility of allowing her to resettle or even enter the country.

The issue of repatriation of European women who have fled Europe to join ISIL in Syria – or are suspected of doing so – has caused much debate across Europe.

In February, Norway's Populist party quit the government's coalition after a suspected ISIL bride was allowed to return to the country so one of her two young children could receive urgent medical treatment.

The woman had left Norway and traveled to Syria in 2013, where she had married twice, but had ended up in a Kurdish-controlled detention camp.

In November 2019, Germany repatriated a 30-year-old ISIL bride and her three young children from a refugee camp in northern Syria.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had originally ruled that she wouldn't be allowed to return on security grounds, but a Berlin court ordered the decision to be overturned.

Courts in other European countries, including France and the Netherlands, have refused to force repatriations, arguing that it is up to their respective governments to make such decisions.