Crime and punishment

In 2015, a schoolgirl from east London boarded a plane to TurkeyOfficially the Republic of Turkiye, a country that lies partly in Europe and partly in Asia at the east of the Mediterranean. . Whoever checked her passport would not have looked twice at the name Shamima Begum.

It is hard to imagine the same thing happening on a return trip. Her face has been splashed on the front of every UK newspaper. The mere mention of her name can divide a room.

And now she is at the centre of a legal storm. In 2019, the UK government stripped her of her citizenship. It was four years after she had left Britain with two school friends to join a terrorist group, the Islamic StateA terrorist organisation that captured whole swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014, and launched a series of attacks in Europe and North America. It is also known as ISIS or ISIL. , in SyriaA Middle Eastern country that was the site of much of the fighting during the Crusades.. On Friday, she lost another appeal against this move in the UK's Court of Appeal.

But criticism of the government's policy is growing. In 2023, one of its own top advisers said that it makes the UK more vulnerable to terrorismThe unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims..¹

The UK government argues that it is right to strip Begum of her citizenship because she has committed acts of terrorism, and if she is allowed back in the UK she might pose a threat to others.

Under a law passed in 2014, the Home SecretaryIn Britain, they are responsible for national security, immigration and policing. is allowed to strip any British citizen of their citizenship if doing so is "conduciveContributing to a good result, or helpful. to the public good", and provided they are already, or are able to become, citizens of another country.

Begum was born in the UK, but her parents have Bangladeshi citizenship, so she is technically eligibleSuitable or meeting the requirements to take part. for citizenship there - although she has never lived in the country.

But critics say this law is unfair and immoral. They say it sends the message that people born in Britain to foreign parents are not fully British.

Others believe it is wrong for wealthy countries like the UK to dodge their responsibilities for terrorists who grew up there by making poorer countries like Bangladesh take them in.²

And some think letting Begum come back is just the right thing to do. They say she was effectively groomedWhen someone forms a relationship with a vulnerable person, especially a child, with the intention of later exploiting them. by IS. She should have a chance at redemptionBeing saved from sin or evil, or doing good to make up for doing something wrong. .

Yes: Begum is a terrorist. According to reports, she was an enthusiastic enforcer for IS. When she first resurfaced in 2019, she expressed no remorse for what she had done. She cannot be allowed back.

No: Begum was a child when she left. She has made mistakes but she deserves our forgiveness. It is not just to subject her, without trial, to a punishment that another British citizen would not face.

Or... This is not really about Begum as an individual. The government has redefined citizenship as a privilege, rather than a right. This is an abuse of power that should worry us all.