STORY: A British-born woman who traveled to Syria as a schoolgirl to join Islamic State lost her latest appeal on Friday (February 23) over the removal of her citizenship.

The UK government stripped Shamima Begum of her citizenship on grounds of national security in 2019, not long after she was found in a detention camp in northeastern Syria.

Begum, who is now 24, argues the decision was unlawful, in part because British officials failed to properly consider whether she was a victim of trafficking.

That argument that was rejected by a lower court in February 2023.

And the Court of Appeal in London has now rejected her most recent appeal.

Here’s Judge Sue Carr.

“It could be argued that the decision in Ms Begum’s case was harsh. It could also be argued that Ms Begum is the author of her own misfortune. But it is not for this court to agree, or disagree, with either point of view. Our only task is to assess whether the deprivation decision was unlawful. We have concluded it was not, and the appeal is dismissed.”

The British government welcomed the ruling.

Begum’s lawyers have repeatedly called on the UK to repatriate her and others who remain in Syria, describing the refusal to do so as “disgraceful.”

Gareth Peirce said that every other country has taken their nationals back, and that the UK now stands, quote, “virtually alone.”

Another of Begum’s lawyers said they would not stop fighting until she does get justice and is “safely back home.”

Britain has repatriated 17 individuals since 2019 as of December, according human rights organization Rights and Security International.

Begum’s case has been the subject of heated debate.

Some argue that she willingly joined a terrorist group. Others say she was just a child when she left, and that should face justice for any alleged crimes in Britain.

Begum left London in 2015 when she was 15-years-old to travel with two school friends to Syria.

She then married an IS fighter and gave birth to three children, all of whom died as infants.

Begum has been in the al-Roj camp since 2019, with thousands of other foreign women and children.