Shamima Begum's lawyer claims she was victim of trafficking while joining ISIS

The lawyers of Shamima Begum, the infamous 'ISIS bride' who left the UK when she was 15 for the territory in West Asia claimed by the terrorist group, said that Begum was a victim of human trafficking. Her lawyers argued before a court that it was on these grounds that it's 'unlawful' to deprive her of her citizenship.

October 25 was the second of Shamima Begum's three-day hearing over whether UK government's decision to remove her citizenship should be repealed or not.

Samantha Knights KC, her barrister, accused Sajid Javid, the then home secretary who removed her citizenship, of having failed to consider whether Begum, then a schoolgirl in east London, was groomed and trafficked. Such trafficking is banned under British law under the country's anti-slavery protections.

"The appellant’s trafficking was a mandatory, relevant consideration in determining whether it was conducive to the public good and proportionate to deprive her of citizenship, but it was not considered by the Home Office," Knights said in a written submission. "As a consequence, the deprivation decision was unlawful."

A Special Immigration Appeals Commission in February this year had upheld Javid's decision to remove Shamima Begum's citizenship. Her lawyers are appealing to the court to overturn that ruling as well.

What is going against Shamima Begum's case for British citizenship?

The SIAC court in February said that there was credible suspicion that Begum "was recruited, transferred and then harboured for the purpose of sexual exploitation".

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The UK had removed Shamima Begum's British citizenship in 2019, shortly after she was detained by victorious Syrian Kurdish forces following the defeat of Islamic State.

About Shamima Begum

Shamima Begum had left her home in east London, in 2015 with two school friends, and travelled to Syria to work for the so-called "Caliphate" under Islamic State rule. When interviewed immediately after the terror group’s defeat she said: “I don’t regret coming here.”

Begum remains in Kurdish custody in north-east Syria, and she has said more recently she regrets her decision – arguing she would "rather die than go back to IS".

The arguments in the case in a UK court of appeal are scheduled to conclude on Thursday (Oct 26). The decision in the case is expected at a later date.