The case of a boy who was removed from the custody of his mother by the Internal Security Forces received national attention over the weekend, prompting caretaker Justice Minister Salim Jreissati to take personal action.
The boy was forcibly taken from his mother’s house in implementation of a court order awarding custody to his father. In a statement issued Monday, Jreissati said he would “put his hand on the issue” and personally follow up on whether there had been violations in the case.
During the weekend, a video circulated on social media and local TV stations showing security forces breaking into the house of the mother, identified as “Maysaa,” after she initially refused to give up her son, identified by his initials F.S.
The video shows F.S. crying and refusing to leave his mother with the ISF. The boy’s father, identified as M.S., was also present at the scene, according to an ISF statement.
The video triggered sharp public criticism over the actions of security forces it depicted, with many describing the act as “barbaric.” The mother was the video’s alleged source, as she filmed the whole scene and posted it to social media.
According to an ISF statement issued Saturday, security forces were implementing an order by the Higher Sunni Religious Court to give custody to the father and “imprison the mother for a period of six months” if she did not abide by the court ruling. The security forces had previously visited the house twice in an attempt to take the child. Each time the mother refused to open the door, so security forces ultimately followed the instructions of Beirut’s General Prosecutor, who ordered them to “break open the door in the presence of the mukhtar of the neighborhood.”
Beirut MP Rola Tabsh Jaroudi condemned the way the boy was “snatched” from his mother by the ISF and called on the court to return custody to the mother, saying that, according to Sunni jurisprudence, custody should remain with the mother until a child is 12 years old.
“The storming in by security forces is unacceptable from a humanitarian and legal point of view and violates basic human rights,” Jaroudi said. “There are more civilized methods that could have been adopted [that enlist] the help of a social worker or psychologist at least,” she added.
“The boy is not a criminal [and should not] experience such acts, which were surely traumatizing for him,” Jaroudi said. “What is his fault other than falling victim to the dispute between his parents?” she asked.
Jaroudi said she would follow up with both Dar al-Fatwa and Jreissati on the issue to prevent such events from taking place in the future.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
