LONDON: The UK risks creating a 鈥渘ew Guantanamo鈥� in Syria through the practice of revoking the citizenships of Daesh accomplices, the director of a human rights charity has warned.

Shamima Begum, a former 鈥淒aesh bride,鈥� appealed against the stripping of her citizenship, but the UK鈥檚 Supreme Court ruled in the government鈥檚 favor on Friday.

The director of human rights charity Reprieve, Maya Foa, who was involved in Begum鈥檚 case, said the ruling has left the 21-year-old in a 鈥渓egal limbo,鈥� where she cannot return to the UK or mount a legal challenge remotely.

鈥淭he court has said she can appeal against the decision, but they do not say how it can be done. It leaves her in the hands of the British government, which is unwilling to assist,鈥� Foa added.

鈥淭hat is less of a policy and more of an abdication of responsibility 鈥� unless the policy is to create a new Guantanamo in Syria.鈥�

Supporters of Begum claim that she regrets her decision to leave the UK to join Daesh, and is remorseful about her actions.

Critics of the government decision say Begum was a minor and a victim of trafficking, who was unable to leave Syria until she was detained in the wake of Daesh鈥檚 defeat.

About 24 adults and 35 children who left the UK to join Daesh are still detained in Syrian camps, where conditions are said to be dismal. Many have been stripped of their UK citizenship.

The ruling handed down by the Supreme Court on Friday means that Begum is forbidden from entering the UK to fight her case.

She left London aged 15 with two friends to join Daesh in Syria six years ago. Despite being born in the UK, her citizenship was stripped in 2019 by then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid after she was discovered living in a prison camp by a UK journalist.

British law permits the removal of a person鈥檚 citizenship if it is deemed 鈥渃onducive to the public good.鈥� However, it is illegal to remove a person鈥檚 citizenship if doing so would leave them stateless.

But Javid said Begum was eligible for Bangladeshi citizenship, where her parents were born and had citizenship.

Intelligence agencies say about 900 Britons traveled to Syria or Iraq to join Daesh. About 20 percent of them were killed and 40 percent returned home.