{UAH} UK Strips Terrorist of Citizenship
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Counter-terrorism
Supreme Court backs Theresa May decision to strip suspected Al Qaeda
terrorist of UK citizenshipMarch 25, 2015 by Victoria Parsons
Published in: All Stories, Counter-terrorismTweet Email this
US Department of Justice handout – Minh Quang Pham
The seven justices of the Supreme Court today unanimously dismissed
the appeal of a Vietnam-born man who was stripped of his British
citizenship in 2011 after allegations he was involved with al Qaeda
terrorism.
Minh Quang Pham, 32, had appealed home secretary Theresa May's
decision to strip him of his British citizenship on the grounds that
her decision made him stateless.
Formerly a graphic designer who lived in southeast London, Pham is now
in New York facing terrorism-related charges. He is alleged to have
been involved with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), receiving
training in Yemen and providing material support to the group.
He allegedly used his graphic design skills to help produce Inspire,
AQAP's English language publication, after "surreptitiously"
travelling to Yemen in 2010. According to the indictment filings in
the US Pham had told his wife, a British national, he was travelling
to Ireland.
Pham pleaded not guilty to five counts of terrorism offences at the
New York Southern District court earlier this month. If convicted he
faces a minimum sentence of 40 years.
A timeline of Pham's appeals
Pham was born in Vietnam but his family left the country when he as a
baby. He was naturalised as a British citizen at the age of 12. May
served him with a notice depriving him of his British citizenship in
2011 on national security grounds, alleging he was involved in
"Islamicist [sic] extremism".
He then successfully appealed that decision at a Special Immigration
Appeals Commission (Siac) hearing in 2012 when he argued he would
therefore be stateless.
The home secretary challenged that ruling in the Court of Appeal.
Although the government of Vietnam said it did not consider him a
national, in 2013 the appeal judges agreed with the home secretary
that he had Vietnamese nationality under that country's law.
Last November Pham appealed that decision at the Supreme Court. His
lawyers said he automatically lost his Vietnamese citizenship on
gaining British citizenship.
In a three-minute hearing at the Supreme Court today, Lord Justice
Carnwath said there was "no evidence of a decision by the Vietnamese
government to treat Pham as a non-national".
Pham was therefore "not stateless at the time of the [home
secretary's] decision," he added.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We are pleased with the Supreme
Court's decision in this case. It would not be appropriate to comment
further on this individual case, particularly while there are still
matters before the courts."
What next?
Pham's case will now be heard again in the Special Immigration Appeals
Commission (Siac) where the remaining issues of EU law, which were not
addressed in the Supreme Court hearing, will be decided. These are
that by stripping Pham of his British citizenship, he also loses his
EU citizenship and therefore the right to appeal at the Court of
Justice of the European Union.
When Pham was stripped of his citizenship in 2011 it was illegal to
strip someone of their British citizenship if to do so would render
them stateless under British nationality law. However, that law has
changed and the home secretary is now able to deprive a naturalised
British citizen of their citizenship even where they would be left
stateless.
Pham's case was the second deprivation of citizenship case to reach
the Supreme Court.
The previous citizenship stripping case to reach the Supreme Court was
that of Hilal al-Jedda in 2013. In that case, the home secretary lost
her appeal to remove the Iraqi-born man's British citizenship. The
judges ruled unanimously that her actions would illegally make the
Iraqi-born man stateless.
But instead of restoring al-Jedda's citizenship, Theresa May made a
second order depriving him of his British citizenship just weeks after
losing her case in the Supreme Court. That has triggered a new appeals
process, with a hearing at Siac due later this year.
Follow Victoria Parsons on Twitter, and read the Bureau's Citizenship
Revoked investigation here.
Related stories
Man stripped of British citizenship pleads not guilty to al Qaeda
terror charges in New YorkSupreme Court hears second deprivation of
citizenship caseLawyers warn that proposed statelessness powers may be
illegalCitizenship-stripping case reaches Supreme Court
--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
Counter-terrorism
Supreme Court backs Theresa May decision to strip suspected Al Qaeda
terrorist of UK citizenshipMarch 25, 2015 by Victoria Parsons
Published in: All Stories, Counter-terrorismTweet Email this
US Department of Justice handout – Minh Quang Pham
The seven justices of the Supreme Court today unanimously dismissed
the appeal of a Vietnam-born man who was stripped of his British
citizenship in 2011 after allegations he was involved with al Qaeda
terrorism.
Minh Quang Pham, 32, had appealed home secretary Theresa May's
decision to strip him of his British citizenship on the grounds that
her decision made him stateless.
Formerly a graphic designer who lived in southeast London, Pham is now
in New York facing terrorism-related charges. He is alleged to have
been involved with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), receiving
training in Yemen and providing material support to the group.
He allegedly used his graphic design skills to help produce Inspire,
AQAP's English language publication, after "surreptitiously"
travelling to Yemen in 2010. According to the indictment filings in
the US Pham had told his wife, a British national, he was travelling
to Ireland.
Pham pleaded not guilty to five counts of terrorism offences at the
New York Southern District court earlier this month. If convicted he
faces a minimum sentence of 40 years.
A timeline of Pham's appeals
Pham was born in Vietnam but his family left the country when he as a
baby. He was naturalised as a British citizen at the age of 12. May
served him with a notice depriving him of his British citizenship in
2011 on national security grounds, alleging he was involved in
"Islamicist [sic] extremism".
He then successfully appealed that decision at a Special Immigration
Appeals Commission (Siac) hearing in 2012 when he argued he would
therefore be stateless.
The home secretary challenged that ruling in the Court of Appeal.
Although the government of Vietnam said it did not consider him a
national, in 2013 the appeal judges agreed with the home secretary
that he had Vietnamese nationality under that country's law.
Last November Pham appealed that decision at the Supreme Court. His
lawyers said he automatically lost his Vietnamese citizenship on
gaining British citizenship.
In a three-minute hearing at the Supreme Court today, Lord Justice
Carnwath said there was "no evidence of a decision by the Vietnamese
government to treat Pham as a non-national".
Pham was therefore "not stateless at the time of the [home
secretary's] decision," he added.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We are pleased with the Supreme
Court's decision in this case. It would not be appropriate to comment
further on this individual case, particularly while there are still
matters before the courts."
What next?
Pham's case will now be heard again in the Special Immigration Appeals
Commission (Siac) where the remaining issues of EU law, which were not
addressed in the Supreme Court hearing, will be decided. These are
that by stripping Pham of his British citizenship, he also loses his
EU citizenship and therefore the right to appeal at the Court of
Justice of the European Union.
When Pham was stripped of his citizenship in 2011 it was illegal to
strip someone of their British citizenship if to do so would render
them stateless under British nationality law. However, that law has
changed and the home secretary is now able to deprive a naturalised
British citizen of their citizenship even where they would be left
stateless.
Pham's case was the second deprivation of citizenship case to reach
the Supreme Court.
The previous citizenship stripping case to reach the Supreme Court was
that of Hilal al-Jedda in 2013. In that case, the home secretary lost
her appeal to remove the Iraqi-born man's British citizenship. The
judges ruled unanimously that her actions would illegally make the
Iraqi-born man stateless.
But instead of restoring al-Jedda's citizenship, Theresa May made a
second order depriving him of his British citizenship just weeks after
losing her case in the Supreme Court. That has triggered a new appeals
process, with a hearing at Siac due later this year.
Follow Victoria Parsons on Twitter, and read the Bureau's Citizenship
Revoked investigation here.
Related stories
Man stripped of British citizenship pleads not guilty to al Qaeda
terror charges in New YorkSupreme Court hears second deprivation of
citizenship caseLawyers warn that proposed statelessness powers may be
illegalCitizenship-stripping case reaches Supreme Court
--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
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