A Muslim convert who had been stripped of his British citizenship because of his extremism, is appealing to the UK Supreme Court, complaining that the decision has left him stateless, BBC reported.
The man, identified only as “B2, ” lost his British citizenship in 2011. Home Secretary Theresa May withdrew his citizenship because of his extremist activities. Now the Supreme Court must decide whether B2 was really left without any nationality, which is unacceptable under international law.
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The hearing comes just as of Parliament is about to debate new counter-terrorism measures allowing the Home Secretary to ban British nationals from returning to the UK after an involvement in terrorism overseas.
Home Secretary Theresa May has the power to strip anyone of their British nationality if they have another citizenship. But B2, a native of Vietnam who came to the UK at age 12 with his parents may not be able to reclaim his Vietnamese citizenship and so, basically, has nowhere else to go.
B2 converted to Islam at age 21. According to the Home Secretary, he became a follower of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and in 2010 left for Yemen.
AQAP followers have been behind several bombings, and they publish Inspire, an English-language jihadist magazine designed to attract recruits from the West.
Court papers cited by the BBC show the MI5 assessment that B2 poses an “active threat to the safety and security of the UK and its inhabitants.”
B2 was ordered to be deported to Vietnam and was placed in detention.
B2 appealed his loss of citizenship to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, which deals with cases involving national security, saying it has left him stateless.
Now the government asked Parliament to amend the law, so that the Home Secretary could rescind someone’s citizenship if officials believed that person could turn to another nationality.
