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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Family Division) Decisions >> A Local Authority v A Mother & Ors (Radicalisation Welfare) [2018] EWHC 2056 (Fam) (22 June 2018) URL: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2018/2056.html Cite as: [2018] EWHC 2056 (Fam) |
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FAMILY DIVISION
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL |
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B e f o r e :
____________________
| A LOCAL AUTHORITY |
Applicant |
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| - and - |
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| A MOTHER and A FATHER and J (A Child) (by her child's guardian) |
Respondents |
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A LOCAL AUTHORITY v A MOTHER and OTHERS ( RADICALISATION: WELFARE) |
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Mr Nuvoloni and Ms Nouri for the First Respondent mother
Ms Perry for the Third Respondent child.
Hearing date: 22nd June 2018
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Crown Copyright ©
MRS JUSTICE GWYNNETH KNOWLES:
radicalised
and held Islamist extremist beliefs and had travelled to Syria to fight for ISIL and to engage in terrorism related activity. Her mother shared the same extremist ideology and had travelled with the father to Syria to live in ISIL controlled territory. Furthermore, there was a risk that the mother would
radicalise
her daughter and inculcate an extremist ideology; a risk that she would seek to remove the child from the jurisdiction to an unsafe location in pursuit of her extremist ideology; and a risk that she would behave in this jurisdiction in ways consistent with her extremist ideology. Finally, the mother did not have any real insight into the risk of significant physical and emotional harm which the father posed to J and in consequence was unable to act protectively.
The Parties' Positions
The Hearing: General
Update Following Fact Finding
radicalised,
(b) her activity on social media, (c) by whom and how she had been
radicalised,
(d) her relationship with the father, and (e) details as to how the journey to Syria was planned and carried out. The mother remained adamant she was not aware she was travelling to Syria when she left the UK and that the father was not engaged in fighting activities on behalf of ISIL when they were in Syria. The conclusion of the parenting assessment was that J remained at continuing risk because of her mother's beliefs particularly given the lack of clarity from the mother about those with whom she associated and those who had assisted in organising and funding her travel to territory controlled by ISIL.
radicalised
state of mind and a tendency towards feeling dependent on her faith to make sense of her experiences and identity" [letter dated 14 June 2018]. Additionally, the mother was receiving support via the Home Office's Desistance and Disengagement Programme [DDP] and had been meeting with an intervention provider since late March 2018. The DDP is a program which has been developed to assist individuals who are already engaged in terrorism or who it is suspected have engaged in terrorism to disengage and reintegrate safely back into society. As a returner from Syria, the mother met the threshold to receive support via the programme. Reports on the mother's engagement with the DDP were made available to the local authority, the parties and the Court.
radicalisation
and she acknowledged to the therapist that she had been
radicalised
prior to travelling to Syria. She was very keen to be a good role model for her daughter and keen to have an ongoing relationship with her. During the session in mid-May 2018, the mother told the therapist that her husband had suggested whilst they were on honeymoon that they should travel to Syria in order to live there. A fortnight later, during another session which took place by telephone, the mother told the therapist that she knew from the start - that is from the time that she was in the UK - that her husband wanted to travel to Syria. This was in marked contrast to what she had said a fortnight earlier and in marked contrast to both the contents of her March 2018 statement and the oral evidence she gave to me during the fact-finding hearing. The mother told the therapist that she wished she had been honest from the start of the proceedings and accepted that she had lied up till now. The final session for which I have a report took place on in early June 2018 during which the mother discussed her understanding of extremism/terrorism. She said that she understood she was extreme in her beliefs but said that she did not think she would have done anything to harm anyone at that time. She stressed that, having done some personal research, she no longer believed in ISIL and what it stood for. The therapist formed the view that the mother was very vulnerable since she had a limited understanding of her faith and needed support with developing her theological and political critical thinking skills.
The Witnesses
The Law
The Welfare Checklist
radicalised and of developing a similarly extremist ideology. In furtherance of her extremist ideology, the mother left the United Kingdom as part of a joint plan to live in a war zone where on her own admission she was supported by ISIL with travel and accommodation and food. Her past behaviour in that regard – characterised by deception of the authorities and untruthfulness - justified a finding that J was at risk of being removed by her mother from this jurisdiction to an unsafe location in pursuit of the mother's extremist ideology. Finally, given the findings I made about the parents' shared mindset and the motivation for their journey to Syria, I could not sensibly ignore the risk that the mother would behave in this jurisdiction in ways consistent with her extremist ideology thereby placing J at risk of future significant harm.
My Assessment
Support for the Placement
Designation: Supervision Order
Contact: Orders
Conclusion