TEHRAN, Mar 11 - The family of Shamima Begum, the girl who has been deprived of her British citizenship over joining Daesh terrorists in Syria, has written to interior minister Sajid Javid to allow the girl to return to the UK as an act of “mercy” after her baby boy died in a refugee camp in the Arab country.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -A lawyers representing Begum’s family sent a letter to Javid on Monday, demanding the girl’s citizenship be restored.
“Following the tragic and entirely avoidable death of Shamima Begum's son, we have written to the home secretary requesting that he reconsider his original decision to strip Ms Begum of her British citizenship,” said Tasnime Akunjee.
The layer said the letter was sent as “an urgent bid to avoid further tragedy”, adding that there were huge fears about Shamima’s own safety in the camp she lives in northeastern Syria.
The call comes amid criticism of Javid over his last month’s decision to strip Begum of her citizenship while she was begging authorities to allow her to return to the UK to be able to raise her third and only surviving child.
The criticism intensified last week when it was announced that Begum’s son Jarrah had died of pneumonia while he was only three weeks old. The boy was technically a British citizen as he had been born days before Javid revoked his mother’s citizenship.
Begum’s case has sparked outrage about Britain’s hypocrisy when it comes to dealing with terrorism in Syria. Critics say people like Begum are being punished for travelling to Syria to join terrorist groups at a time when London is continuing to offer direct support to several armed groups in the country. British authorities have even accommodated militants and their families in the UK after they were defeated by the Syrian government.
Source: Press TV