Lisa Smith, a former Irish soldier who travelled to Syria during the country’s civil war has won a legal case in a London court against the decision to exclude her by the English Home Office by citing the Good Friday Agreement.
Smith is charged with membership of outlawed ISIS, the Islamic State.
Smith’s legal team argued that she is entitled to hold a UK passport and should be allowed to travel freely within the UK, including Northern Ireland, as her paternal family live there.
According to the Irish Mirror, in December 2019, she was served with a notice by the British Home Secretary to exclude her from the UK on the grounds of national security.
Smith appealed the decision to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) sitting in London. The case was heard late last month. They ruled Irish nationals or citizens can be excluded, but not those with dual nationality.
Smith argued that her father having been born in Belfast was entitled to be treated as a dual national and by virtue of his dual nationality, it would be unlawful to exclude her from the jurisdiction.
The decision to exclude Ms Smith was determined to be discriminatory.
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