British 'IS bride' Shamima was 'child trafficking victim', lawyer tells court

Shamima Begum, the British schoolgirl who had left London to allegedly join the Islamic State group, was a victim of "child trafficking", her lawyer told a UK court.

Shamima Begum was 15 when she left for Syria, now 21, she is fighting a court battle after Britain's interior ministry had revoked her citizenship on national security grounds.

Watch:

Although, Court of Appeal had ruled last year that she could return to the UK, however, the Supreme Court had overturned the lower court's ruling.

Shamima is now living in a camp in Syria awaiting entry into Britain. Her case is now with the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) that deals with deportations as she seeks to challenge the British government's decision.

Shamima's lawyer Samantha Knights told the SIAC that she was "a child trafficked to and remaining in Syria for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced marriage".

Former Home Secretary Sajid Javid had stripped Shamima of her UK citizenship over her alleged IS links. 

Shamima's lawyer said her condition was dire and she is in a "fundamentally unsafe environment".

Shamima had left Britain along with two of her friends to Syria where she reportedly married an IS terrorist. The couple were separated after IS fighters were surrounded by US and British troops in Baghouz.

SIAC judge Robert Jay is set to give a ruling by the end of the month.

(With inputs from Agencies)