Despite the verdict, Ashraf may still challenge the decision to deprive him of his citizenship through the Special Immigration Appeals Commission – although even if successful, he can only return to the country if released by his captors and freely allowed to leave Syria by authorities.
The father of British-born Ashraf Mahmud Islam, an 18-year-old who travelled to Syria to join Daesh, has lost a fight to keep his son's UK citizenship after he was stripped of it by former Home Secretary Amber Rudd.
Ashraf went to fight for the terror group in April 2015 while studying A-level law at a British educational establishment in Dhaka, Bangladesh – Rudd removed his citizenship in 2017 on the basis he posed a potential threat to national security, stating she believed he wouldn't be left “stateless” as he also has Bangladeshi citizenship.
In the first case of its kind to reach the High Court, Ashraf's father Abdullah Islam, himself a barrister, challenged the decision – he wishes for his son, now 22, to return home as he's currently held in a Kurdish-run military prison in Syria and could face the death penalty.
However, his case has now been rejected, with presiding judge Justice Pepperall ruling his arguments had “no merit”.
“Ashraf is in detention in Syria and at risk of trial in the Middle East and the possible imposition of the death penalty entirely because of his own actions in travelling to Syria and engaging in…
