23rd February 2019

The news came through on Thursday evening that the Home secretary Sajid Javid had ordered the removal of Shamima Begum’s British citizenship. Bangladesh soon stated that she was not or never had been a citizen, Begum has now been left effectively stateless, not only is this against international law it is immoral and wrong. The U.K should do everything in its power to try Shaminna for the crimes she has committed as a member of ISIS while preserving the innocence of her newborn child.
What Shamima Begum and any other member of ISIS has done is abhorrent, do not mistake my opinion of her fate as any sort of support for what she has done. What her co-conspirators did in my city of Manchester created one of the darkest days this country had ever seen. This is why
Shamima Begum should be returned to the U.K. and tried for the crimes she has committed.
The potential trial of Shamima Begum presents the U.K with an opportunity to show the world not only how terrorists should be punished but also to show the progress on the fight against ISIS. Of course, a U.K. court would find Shamima Begum guilty of multiple crimes and she would likely never be released, this is a much better alternative than leaving her to become more radicalised as well as the potential indoctrination of her child.
the precedent of taking away someone’s citizenship is a scary one, I fear in this case the decision to take away Shamima Begum’s citizenship has been fueled by political manoeuvring by Sajid “The Saj” Javid. does this decision mean that nay U.K. national who commits a crime abroad should have their citizenship revoked? a country cannot wash their hands of their own citizens when they commit a crime.
By not allowing Begum back into the U.K. to stand trial we are endangering the welfare of her newly born child. This newborn baby has not chosen to be born in these circumstances, nor as the baby chosen to be part of any terrorist organisation. by leaving this child with Begum we are condemning a new life to not only danger but a high risk of radicalisation.
The Discourse celebrating the removal of her citizenship has been laced with racist and Islamophobic rhetoric throughout, which of course has been stoked by tabloid media and opportunistic politicians. This story is one of tragedy on all parts, the decision by the Home Secretary if you agree with it or not should never be met with celebration. I truly believe that had this case be revolving around a white Christian then the decision to revoke citizenship would never have taken place, and the support around it would not have been so immense.