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Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) switched from the jihadist movement that was once aligned with Al Qaeda to form the official Syrian government.
That is a monumental transformation for them, their country and the wider Middle East.
But also potential for the British who go to Syria – And those stripped of their citizenship as a result, for national security reasons.
Tauqir Sharif, better known as Tox, went to Syria in 2012 as a aid worker. He was accused of being part of a group affiliated with Al Qaeda, which he refused, and Amber Rudd’s house secretary at the time deprived his British citizenship in 2017.
“Until now, I lost mine English citizenship but I am not a terrorist who was punished – and the reason was because we refused, we boycotted, siac [Special Immigration Appeals Commission] A secret court, which does not allow you to see the evidence presented to you, “he said.
“And one of the things that I always call is, look, put me in front of the jury, let’s have an open trial.”
HTS is still a terrorist organization that is prohibited but the British government has now been in a relationship with it.
Foreign Minister David Lammy went to Damascus to meet with the president while jihadist who turned into Syria-man who exchanged Nom de Guerre from Al Jolani for Ahmed Al Sharaa.
David Lammy shakes hands with Ahmed Al Sharaa in Damascus. Pic: x / @davidlammy
If the British government removes HTS from the terror list, what does it mean for those who lose their citizenship after being accused of being part of it?
People who joined HTS were only subset among a number of people who had been revoked their citizenship – a British government tool was quickly used.
According to a report by the Committee of Human Rights a joint parliament, the British “used the deprivation of citizenship orders more than almost all countries in the world”.
The climax was in 2017, and especially in relation to Syria – especially in the case of people who joined the Islamic State, perhaps the most famous Shamima Begum.
Shamima Begum was stripped from his British citizenship for national security reasons
And because people cannot be made entirely without citizenship, and need to have a second citizenship, or have the potential to qualify for one, there are fears of racism in matters applied by the command.
Countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh offer double citizenship, while other countries do not. In 2022, the Institute of Race Relations said “Most of those who were seized were Muslim men with the heritage of East Asia or South Africa or North Africa”.
Legal gray area
Sky News submitted a request for freedom of information to the headquarters who requested the second national details of those who were seized by citizenship, but were rejected twice for national security reasons.
Independent reviewer of the terrorism law, Jonathan Hall KC, told Sky News that there were problems around transparency.
“I think there is a problem when you have people who are related to the country where they are really technical and they may never realize that they have the citizenship before and may never go to that country,” he said.
“My predecessor and I all said, because how often this power was used, it must be something that must be reviewed by independent reviewers.
Listen to the world with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
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There is no automatic reversal
Even if the government does erase HTS from the terror list, it will not automatically cancel the decision to eliminate their citizenship.
Macer Gifford fought with the Kurdish People’s Protection Unit (YPG) as a foreign volunteer. Pic: Ap
Macer Gifford gave up his career as a banker in London to join the Kurdish People’s Protection Unit (YPG) as a foreign volunteer between 2015 and 2017.
He told Sky News that the decision “was made many years ago for the interest of the British public must be permanent”.
Listen to the world with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
“We cannot go through previous cases that grip him, waste time and money to renew,” he added.
“We cannot be naive because of the intention to get out, the decision to go by itself is a big decision for them. So it shows a commitment when they are there, they then, if they take active participation in the organization that they are accused of joining, again, it involves training and perseverance and devotion to that goal.”
But those who were born and raised in the UK, who joined the same goal, and lost their citizenship, may naturally ask why it still happens.
