Watchdog steps in over secrecy about UK women in Syria stripped of citizenship
March 29, 2021, 10:29 am

Watchdog steps in over secrecy about UK women in Syria stripped of citizenship

Al-Hawl displacement camp in north-east Syria, which holds almost 62,000 people, the majority Iraqi and Syrian, but with an annex for international citizens accused of ties to Isis.

Exclusive: Home Office refusal to disclose how many women are in same position as Shamima Begum prompts action

The Home Office’s refusal to disclose the number of women who, like Shamima Begum, have been deprived of their British citizenship after travelling to join Islamic State is under investigation by the information commissioner.

The watchdog said it would step in after the government refused to share the data with a human rights group concerned about the conditions of British women and children detained in camps in north-east Syria, where conditions are dire.

Alison Huyghe, advocacy officer with Rights and Security International, accused the Home Office of engaging in a “dogged refusal” to disclose data, meaning that the policy of removing British citizenship was “beyond all oversight”. “We need to know about any risk of discrimination or other patterns of gender-related harm when the government takes people’s British citizenship away,” she added.

Ministers have aggressively pursued a policy of taking away UK citizenship from Britons picked up following the fall of Isis at the end of the 2010s, arguing that they pose a national security threat and should not be allowed to return.

British law allows the home secretary to take away somebody’s nationality if doing so is deemed “conducive to the public good” – although it is illegal to render somebody stateless if they are not eligible for citizenship of another country.

A legal challenge from Begum failed in the supreme court last month, although her lawyers continue to consider their options. But two other women, known only as C3 and C4, who had also travelled to Syria, overturned a deprivation decision after a court ruled that they could not have claimed Bangladeshi citizenship.

Estimates suggested that there remain about 15 women with 35 children being held by the Syrian Kurds, with no assistance from the UK. But their exact number and how many have been deprived of their citizenship have not been made public.

They are among several thousand women and children from dozens of countries held in at least three impoverished camps in north-east Syria, but who have nowhere to go as their countries of origin have largely refused to take them back. Violence and malnutrition is rife and there are concerns about the radicalisation of those who remain in the camps, particularly in the largest, al-Hawl, which was the subject of a two week security operation, starting on Sunday.

Rights and Security International said in a report produced last year that the effect of the policy was to subject women and children to “indefinite unlawful detention” in a situation with echoes of Guantánamo Bay. It argued that they should be brought back to their homelands “to face justice” if necessary.

Ministers took away the British nationality of 23 people between 2014 and 2016 as the Isis terror group took large swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq, plus a further 104 in 2017 and 21 in 2018. No gender breakdown was provided.

No data has been released since, prompting Rights and Security International to ask in a freedom of information request how many people had had their UK citizenship removed in 2019 and 2020, how many were women, and how many were parents of children under the age of 18 at the time the decision was made.

The Home Office had said it would release headline figures covering 2019 and 2020 in due course, but any data relating to the number of women affected would not be released, citing an exemption clause in the Freedom of Information Act that says publishing the data would prejudice the conduct of public affairs.

Leigh Day, lawyers for Rights and Security International, then appealed to the Information Commissioner’s Office, which replied that it had accepted the case “as eligible for further consideration”.

A Home Office spokesperson said that deprivation of figures are published annually as part of a transparency report on Disruptive and Investigatory Powers that is due to be released shortly. “Where requests are made for details already due for publication or already publicly available, the Freedom of Information Act does not compel disclosure,” the spokesperson added.

source: Dan Sabbagh

Levant

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).

Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.