A 13-year-old boy has taken legal action against his parents, who he says tricked him into going to Africa and abandoned him at a boarding school.
The British teenager claims his parents told him they were traveling abroad to visit a sick relative, but he was then left there without warning due to fears that he was participating in gang activity in London—an allegation the boy denies. The country in which he was left was not publicly disclosed.
The boy, who has lived in the UK since birth, reached out to the British Consulate and a child welfare organization for help, Punch Metro reported. His legal team argued in court that his parents "physically and emotionally abandoned" him in an environment where he allegedly faces inadequate food, poor education, and mistreatment.
"There is clear evidence that he is being harmed emotionally, psychologically, and possibly physically in the environment in which he has been placed," Deirdre Fottrell KC, the attorney representing him said. She called the parents decision "stark and quite brutal," and argued that, as a result, their son is "upset, confused, and distressed."
The boy's father's legal team defended the move as a legitimate act of parental responsibility, citing "real concerns about where he was and who he was with" in London. over his deteriorating behavior and vulnerability to criminal influences in London. They argued that the boarding school in the African country provided a safer, structured environment.
The legal team representing the teen has requested that a judge order his return to the UK, while his father's representation claims the parents acted in the child's best interest and their decision should be respected. The hearing is ongoing.
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