LONDON • The British government has told the family of Shamima Begum, a 19-year-old woman who travelled to Syria to marry an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighter four years ago, that it intends to revoke her citizenship, according to a family lawyer.
Through a statement released by lawyer Tasnime Akunjee, Begum's family said it was "very disappointed with the Home Office's intention to have an order made depriving Shamima of her citizenship".
"We are considering all legal avenues to challenge this decision," it added.
Begum told ITV News she was "a bit shocked" after learning of the move.
"It's a bit upsetting and frustrating. I feel like it's a bit unjust on me and my son."
In a letter sent to Ms Begum's mother and obtained by broadcaster ITV News, the British Home Office said the decision had been made by Home Secretary Sajid Javid on Tuesday.
The office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Begum will be allowed to appeal against the order through the courts, according to the letter. She is not known to have citizenship in any other nation.
It is unclear what her fate would be if she were to ultimately lose her British citizenship.
In 2015, Begum, who is from the Bethnal Green area of East London and was then 15, made headlines when she travelled to Syria with two classmates at the height of ISIS' power in the region.
The three young women flew to Turkey from Gatwick Airport and then boarded a bus to the Syrian border. They soon became the poster girls for young Westerners looking to join the group.
Begum, heavily pregnant, was recently found by a British reporter in a refugee camp in Syria after the teen fled from the last ISIS stronghold in the country.
Last week, she told the reporter she wanted to return home to Britain.
Days later, she gave birth to a baby boy.
Earlier this week, Mr Javid wrote an op-ed article for Britain's The Sunday Times in which he vowed to stop those who had joined the ISIS from returning to Britain, saying the Home Office could bar non-British citizens from entry to the country, or strip "dangerous individuals" of their British citizenship.
He said the office had used those deprivation powers more than 100 times.
"As Home Secretary, my priority is to ensure the safety and security of this country - and I will not let anything jeopardise that," he wrote.
"These are not judgments to be taken based purely on emotion and empathy. We look at the facts of each case, the law and the threat to national security."
NYTIMES, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
