Courts / Dublin / Report

Son of alleged ISIS fighter challenges citizenship refusal

Date
2020-11-05

Stage
Hearing Or Decision

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

Abdul Malik Bekmirzaev, a seven-year-old Dublin-born boy, and his mother, Iryna Paltarzhytskaya, have brought a High Court challenge against the State's refusal to recognise him as an Irish citizen. The applicants, currently residing in Belarus, seek orders for the issuance of an Irish passport and declarations that the boy is a citizen. Their claim arises after the State retrospectively revoked the naturalisation certificate of his father, Alexandr Bekmirzaev, who is alleged to have joined ISIS in Syria. The State contends that the father's 2001 marriage, which facilitated his 2010 naturalisation, was one of convenience. The boy's legal team argues that the refusal breaches his constitutional and European Convention on Human Rights rights, asserting that the revocation was not carried out in accordance with law and should not have retrospective effect on his status. They further note that the State refused to provide a copy of the revocation without authority from the father, who is missing and feared dead. The applicants, who were deported from a Turkish refugee camp in January, wish to return to Ireland. The case was heard by Ms Justice Tara Burns, who granted permission to bring the challenge on an ex-parte basis. The matter was adjourned and will return before the court next month.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Son of alleged ISIS fighter challenges citizenship refusal. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

April 2013 Other
2020-11-05 Publication

Why: In September, the State informed Abdul that it was not issuing him with a new passport and did not consider him a citizen because his father's citizenship had been revoked. CNI source report