Shamima Begum, now 25, left the UK in February 2015 aged 15, travelling with two school friends from Gatwick Airport to Turkey before crossing into Syria, where they joined the Islamic State group. In 2019, then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid revoked her British citizenship on national security grounds after she was found in a refugee camp in northern Syria.

The decision was backed by a series of UK courts, including the Supreme Court, which ruled in 2021 that public safety concerns outweighed her right to return to Britain to participate in her appeal. Further challenges were dismissed by the Court of Appeal in February 2024, leaving her with no further legal routes in the UK.

However, the case has now taken a new turn after the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) requested the UK government respond to concerns raised by Begum’s legal team. Judges are reviewing whether the UK properly considered its obligations under human rights and anti-trafficking laws, highlighting that Begum was a minor at the time she left the country.

Her lawyers argue that she was groomed and trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation and that stripping her of citizenship left her stateless, a claim the UK government disputes. Officials maintain that Begum is eligible for Bangladeshi nationality through her parents, though Bangladesh has repeatedly said she is not a citizen and would not be allowed to enter the country.

The ECtHR’s involvement does not overturn previous UK rulings or guarantee Begum’s return. Instead, it requires the government to justify its actions under European human rights law, a process that could take months or longer.

Begum remains in a detention camp in north-east Syria. Her case continues to divide public opinion and reignite debate over national security, citizenship powers and the treatment of British nationals who joined extremist groups as minors.