Britain is acting against its own law on ISIS bride Shamima: Bangladesh PM’s aide

A special assistant to the Bangladesh prime minister has said the UK government is acting against its own law by revoking the citizenship of the ISIS bride Shamima Begum.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 20 Feb 2019, 05:58 PM
Updated : 20 Feb 2019, 05:58 PM

Shah Ali Farhad, who is a barrister by training, gave a detailed explanation of the issue citing different references of the British as well as Bangladesh and international laws in his Facebook post before saying that Shamima is not a Bangladesh citizen either.

“Depriving her of UK citizenship would make her stateless, which the UK Secretary of State is not allowed to do under any circumstance,” Farhad, a key member of the ruling Awami League international affairs wing, wrote.

The Bangladesh foreign ministry in a statement also asserted that she is not a Bangladesh citizen as different media in the UK had been identifying her as a Bangladesh-born British citizen.

“The UK government would be acting against its own laws, Section 40(4) of the British Nationality Act 1981, as well as international laws, the 1961 UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, if the deprivation of citizenship renders her stateless,” Farhad wrote.

“Additionally, under UK law, Shamima Begum can only be stripped of her UK citizenship if it can be sustained that there is reasonable ground to believe that under the laws of Bangladesh she will be able to become Bangladeshi citizen, Section 40(4A)(c) of the 1981 Act.

He also said she is not a citizen of Bangladesh and that “dual citizenship, or citizenship by descent, is not an automatic right.

“It needs to be granted by the government of Bangladesh based on an application from the person, or her parents in the case of minors, seeking Bangladeshi citizenship by descent [Article 2-4 of the Bangladesh Citizenship (Temporary Provisions) Order 1972 and Rules 3, 4, 6, and 7 of the Bangladesh Citizenship (Temporary Provisions) Rules 1978].

“The provisions of the 1972 Order and the 1978 Rules have to be read together in harmony with the Citizenship Act, 1951 and the Citizenship Rules, 1952 to get a complete picture of the laws of citizenship in Bangladesh.

“One of the factors that the Government of Bangladesh looks at while granting dual citizenship is the applicant’s ties to Bangladesh,” Farhad said.

“Shamima Begum, never having travelled to Bangladesh and never having applied for a Bangladeshi citizenship, cannot be considered to “have a right” to Bangladeshi citizenship.”

“This needs to be seen in conjunction with the fact that she has been part of a dangerous terrorist group for a substantial period of time.

“In such a situation, the UK Secretary of State’s belief that she would be able to obtain Bangladeshi citizenship, if she is deprived of her UK citizenship, is clearly misplaced under the laws of Bangladesh, the British Nationality Act 1981, and applicable international laws " Farhad added.