Shamima Begum has lost an appeal against the removal of her British citizenship. In 2015, Begum left her family in London as <a href="https://vt.co/news/uk/heres-how-people-have-responded-to-shamima-begum-pleading-to-come-back-to-the-uk">a 15-year-old schoolgirl to join the Islamic State in Syria.</a> The latest decision means the now 23-year-old woman will not be able to return to the UK, <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/shamima-begum-loses-legal-case-over-british-citizenship-and-return-to-uk-12816584">Sky News</a> reports. Begum left her home in east London with two female friends around her age, both now believed to be dead, to join the terrorist organization in Syria. She married a then-21-year-old ISIS fighter Yago Riedijk soon after arriving. She was ultimately stripped of her British citizenship on February 19, 2019 by former Home Secretary Sajid Javid and banned from returning to the UK. Her citizenship was revoked on national security grounds, with Begum fighting the decision ever since. Per <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/22/europe/shamima-begum-ruling-intl-gbr/index.html">CNN</a>, Begum's newborn son passed away in a northern Syrian refugee camp the month after the decision by the Home Office. She says she had two children before that child, who had also died in Syria as babies. <img class="size-full wp-image-1263196289" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/02/2DCR7K6.jpg" alt="" width="1449" height="1933" />[[imagecaption|| Undated photo of Shamima Begum. Credit: PA Images / Alamy]] This morning, Mr Justice Jay of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) rejected Begum's legal challenge but found that there was a "credible suspicion" she was a victim of trafficking to Syria, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/22/shamima-begum-appeal-latest-news-uk-citizenship-ruling-decision/">The Telegraph</a> reports. "The motive of bringing her to Syria was sexual exploitation for which, as a child, she could not give valid consent," he said during a brief hearing today. However, it was concluded that the Home Secretary was not formally required to take into account whether Begum was a victim of trafficking when her citizenship was removed. The Home Office continues to assert that she would be a threat to public safety if she was allowed to return to the country. In a 2021 interview with Good Morning Britain, <a href="https://vt.co/news/uk/shamima-begum-begs-the-uk-for-forgiveness-i-would-rather-die-than-go-back-to-isis">Begum apologized for her actions and sought the forgiveness of the British public.</a> Speaking on the breakfast show in her first-ever live broadcast interview, she said: "I know it’s very hard for the British people to try and forgive me because they have lived in fear of IS and lost loved ones because of IS. "But I also have lived in fear of IS and I also lost loved ones because of IS, so I can sympathize with them in that way. "I know it is very hard for them to forgive me but I say from the bottom of my heart that I am so sorry if I ever offended anyone by coming here, if I ever offended anyone by the things I said." She went on to deny reports that she helped sow suicide vests onto IS fighters, saying: "No, I did not do this thing I have been accused. If you really think that I did this then why don’t you bring me back and put me on trial." Begum is currently at the al-Roj camp in north-east Syria. This is a breaking news story. More to follow... <h6>Featured image credit: PA Images / Alamy</h6>

Shamima Begum loses legal case to return to the UK

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