Headline

Woman Loses Bid To Restore UK Citizenship After Joining IS

Published

3 years ago

February 22, 2023

Editor

A woman who was stripped of her British citizenship after travelling to Syria as a teenager to marry an Islamic State group fighter lost her legal battle on Wednesday to reverse the decision.

The ruling from Judge Robert Jay means that Shamima Begum, 23, cannot return to the UK from her current home in a refugee camp in northern Syria.

Begum was aged 15 when she left her east London home for Syria with two school friends in 2015. While there, she married an IS fighter and had three children, none of whom survived.

In February 2019, she said she was left stateless when former Britain’s home secretary, Sajid Javid, revoked her British citizenship on national security grounds after she was found in the Syrian camp.

A UK tribunal ruled in 2020 that she was not stateless because she was “a citizen of Bangladesh by descent”.

The UK Supreme Court last year refused Begum permission to enter the UK to fight her citizenship case. She subsequently took her case to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.

In rejecting her appeal on Wednesday, Jay said “under our constitutional settlement these sensitive issues are for the secretary of state to evaluate and not for the commission”.

He said, however, that there was “considerable force” in Begum’s arguments and that Javid’s conclusion that she travelled voluntarily to Syria “is as stark as it is unsympathetic.

“Further, there is some merit in the argument that those advising the secretary of state see this as a black-and-white issue when many would say that there are shades of grey,” he added.

– Trafficking claims –
The interior ministry said it was “pleased that the court has found in favour of the government’s position”.

Begum is one of the hundreds of Europeans whose fate following the 2019 collapse of the Islamist extremists’ self-styled caliphate has proved a thorny issue for governments.

Begum’s lawyer, Samantha Knights, told the five-day SIAC hearing last November that Begum had been “influenced” along with her friends by a “determined and effective” IS group “propaganda machine”.

There was “overwhelming” evidence she had been “recruited, transported, transferred, harboured and received in Syria for the purposes of ‘sexual exploitation’ and ‘marriage’ to an adult male”, she added in written submissions.

The process by which the government took the decision to remove Begum’s citizenship was “extraordinary” and “over hasty”, she added.

James Eadie, representing the government, said Begum “travelled, aligned, and stayed in Syria for four years” and that she only left IS-controlled territory for safety reasons “and not because of a genuine disengagement from the group”.

Javid “properly considered” all the factors before making his decision, and the case was about “national security”, not trafficking, he added.

Begum’s apparent lack of remorse in initial interviews drew outrage, but she has since expressed regret for her actions and sympathy for IS victims.

In a documentary last year, she said that on arrival in Syria she quickly realised IS were “trapping people” to boost the caliphate’s numbers and “look good”.

Some 900 people are estimated to have travelled from Britain to Syria and Iraq to join IS. Of those, around 150 are believed to have been stripped of their citizenship.

AFP

Headline

Nigerian Man Pleads Guilty In US To $405,000 Romance Scam Against American Women

Published

2 days ago

August 30, 2025

Editor

A40-year-old Nigerian man, Daniel Chima Inweregbu, has pleaded guilty in the United States to charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as money laundering, in connection with a romance scam that defrauded American women of more than $405,000.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, in a statement on Thursday, said Inweregbu and his co-conspirators ran the scheme between July 2017 and December 2018, using a fake online persona named “Larry Pham” to lure victims on dating sites and social media targeting US citizens.

Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson said that Inweregbu, described as a citizen of Lagos, Nigeria, pleaded guilty on August 21, 2025 before United States District Judge Nanette Jolivette Brown to two of the counts pending against him.

The counts which include conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and using an assumed name to commit a mail fraud scheme, Attorney Simpson said were in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341, 1342, 1343 and 1349 (Count 1), and conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1956(a)(1)(B)(i), 1957, and 1956(h) (Count 12). INWEREGBU’s plea stemmed from his role in a lengthy romance scam targeting American citizens.

According to court documents, a “romance scam” was a confidence scheme in which the perpetrator feigned romantic intentions towards a victim, gained their affection, and used the victim’s goodwill to commit fraud.

“These fraudulent acts might involve such acts as obtaining access to the victim’s money, bank accounts, credit cards, passports, e-mail accounts, or national identification numbers; convincing the victim to transmit things of value to the perpetrator or his witting or unwitting co-conspirators; or inducing the victim to, unintentionally, commit or participate in the commission of financial fraud against third parties on behalf of the perpetrator,” the statement read.

It added, “Between at least July 1, 2017, and December 16, 2018, Inweregbu, and his co-conspirators, devised and operated a “romance scam” whereby they sought to obtain money and property from multiple American women, including 4 victims, by means of false and fraudulent representations and promises.

“Specifically, Inweregbu and his co-conspirators created profiles on social media and online dating sites using the alias “Larry Pham,” purportedly a middle-aged male, to attract middle-aged female victims.

“The co-conspirators, including Inweregbu, used online messaging platforms and email, to contact victims, introduce themselves, and appeal to victims’ longing for companionship. If the victim responded favorably, Inweregbu and his co-conspirators began to cultivate a romantic relationship that emotionally attached the victims to “Larry Pham.”

“Once the relationship was established, the defendant and his co-conspirators, posing as Larry Pham, requested victims send them money under various scams and ruses to domestic bank accounts they opened and managed. Inweregbu’s scheme resulted in actual and intended losses to the victims of over $405,000.

“Thereafter, Inweregbu and his co-conspirators laundered the funds, by conducting financial transactions using the proceeds of their wire and mail fraud scheme, designed in whole or in part to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the proceeds, by directing the victims’ funds through intermediaries.

“Inweregbu faces up to twenty years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a fine of $250,000 as to Count 1. He faces up to twenty years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a fine of $500,000 as to Count 12. He also faces payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee per count. Sentencing before Judge Brown has been scheduled for December 4, 2025,” the partly read.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson, according to the statement praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter and expressed appreciation for the great support provided by United States Department of Justice Office of International Affairs and the United States Department of State.

“Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the Public Integrity Unit, is in charge of the prosecution,” the statement noted.

Headline

UK Bars Over 100 Job Roles From Foreign Recruitment To Curb Migration

Published

2 days ago

August 30, 2025

Editor

The British government has unveiled major immigration reforms, blocking foreign workers from filling more than 100 job categories in a move aimed at reducing net migration.

The Home Office, in a statement posted on X Saturday morning, said the decision was geared towards creating more opportunities for local citizens while restructuring the visa regime.

“Cutting net migration means getting the fundamentals right.

“More than 100 occupations are no longer eligible for overseas recruitment – opening up more jobs for British workers. A fairer, skills-focused system is now taking shape,” the Home Office stated.

This policy marks the latest immigration clampdown under Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who assumed office on July 5, 2024, after Labour’s sweeping election win that ended Rishi Sunak’s tenure.

However, the measure has drawn criticism, with opponents warning it could deepen staffing shortages in critical sectors such as healthcare and social services.

The Home Office has not yet published the full list of restricted occupations.

Headline

PM Killed In Israeli Strike, Say Yemen’s Huthis

Published

2 days ago

August 30, 2025

Editor

The prime minister of Yemen’s Huthis was killed in an Israeli airstrike along with other officials earlier this week, the Iran-backed rebels announced on Saturday.

Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi, who was appointed last year, is the most senior official known to have been killed in a series of Israeli strikes during the war in Gaza.

“We announce the martyrdom of the fighter Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi… along with several of his ministerial colleagues, as they were targeted by the treacherous Israeli criminal enemy,” a Huthi statement said.

“Others among their companions were injured with moderate to serious wounds and are receiving medical care since Thursday afternoon,” it added.

The Israeli military struck in the area of Sanaa, the Huthi-held capital, on Thursday. The Huthis, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians, have frequently fired missiles and drones at Israel during the Gaza war.

Israeli forces “struck a Huthi terrorist regime military target”, the Israeli military said at the time.

The Huthis have also targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which they claim is linked to Israel during the Gaza war.

The rebel group controls large parts of Yemen, which has been gripped by war since 2014, and is part of Iran’s anti-Israel alliance alongside militant groups across much of the Middle East.