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Britain removes citizenship from two more IS brides: report
LONDON, March 10, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Britain has revoked citizenship from
two more women who joined the Islamic State group in Syria, a newspaper
reported Sunday, raising questions about the fate of their children.
The revelation follows a row over a similar decision regarding London
teenager Shamima Begum, whose newborn baby died in a Syrian refugee camp last
week.
Reema Iqbal, 30, and her sister Zara, 28, left east London for Syria in
2013, and between them now have five boys under the age of eight, The Sunday
Times newspaper said.
Citing legal sources, the paper said they had been stripped of their
British citizenship.
The pair, who are of Pakistani heritage, reportedly married into a terror
cell linked to the murder of western hostages.
The British interior ministry said it does not comment on individual cases.
A spokesman said: “Any decisions to deprive individuals of their
citizenship are based on all available evidence and not taken lightly.”
Begum, who married a Dutch IS fighter, was located by journalists in a
refugee camp after fleeing fighting between the terror group and US-backed
forces.
She had asked to return to Britain with her baby, after her two other
children died under IS rule.
Interior minister Sajid Javid revoked her citizenship amid security fears,
but has been criticised for not doing more to help her son.
British law states that the government cannot remove a person’s citizenship
if that would make them stateless.
Begum was thought to be eligible for Bangladeshi citizenship through her
parents, but Dhaka said she could not go there.
Javid has previously said that more than 100 individuals had already been
deprived of their British citizenship.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1925 hrs