40 other cases!
Alexandr Bekmirzaev, a Belarussian who
sham-married a British waitress working in Dublin for €3K in 2001 after first abusing the asylum system to gain access to Ireland in 1999, has had his citizenship revoked by justice minister Helen McEntee.
In 2013, Bekmirzaev left Ireland to fight for ISIS in Syria but was captured by Kurdish forces. His wife and child have also been attempting
to claim Irish residency through him.
Under a mechanism put in place by the Department of Justice last year, citizenship can be revoked in cases where someone breaks their “fidelity” to the state.
Justice officials are also attempting to revoke the citizenship of Ali Charaf Damache, who holds both Algerian and Irish citizenship, for conspiring with a terrorist organisation.
In June the Supreme Court reserved judgment on an appeal by Damache. His lawyers claimed the committee of inquiry system is unfair. A decision from the Supreme Court is due shortly. The outcome will have implications for 40 other cases.