The Family Court has continued forced marriage protection orders (FMPO) and passport retention orders in respect of two children aged 15 and 17 who are in danger of being forced to travel to Bangladesh.

The children were British citizens and had lived in England with their parents and two older brothers.

They moved to Bangladesh in 2015 and returned to the UK in 2019.

In 2020 the mother and by then adult brothers went back to Bangladesh to care for a purportedly unwell grandfather.

In November the father bought one-way flights to Bangladesh for himself and the younger children but, because of information received, police and social services seized the children’s passports and the court made FMPOs.

The mother and older brothers travelled back to the UK but the mother returned to Bangladesh in June 2021 and contacted a UK domestic abuse charity, warning that the father intended to force one of their adult sons to travel to Bangladesh to be married.

The children continued to live with the father and their two adult brothers in England.

The court heard evidence in closed and open hearings from police officers and social workers.

Certain evidence was withheld from the parents and a special advocate was appointed to protect the father’s interests. He told the court that his children were free to marry partners of their choice at a time of their choice and that there was no question of arranged let alone forced marriage.

He said that he had bought one-way flights for the younger children to see their dying grandfather because of potential COVID-19 disruption.

In respect of the mother’s allegation, he variously suggested that she had mental health problems, that she had been kidnapped by a policeman in Bangladesh, that “black magic” had been used on her, and that she was having a relationship with another man.

The children’s guardian supported the local authority’s applications. The mother did not engage in the proceedings. The father agreed, on a without admissions basis, to the FMPOs, but opposed retention of the passports.

The court granted the authority’s applications.

It held that the father was an argumentative and evasive witness and his account of why he had bought one-way flights to Bangladesh was not credible. There was no evidence that the grandfather had been gravely ill.

The court could not trust the father’s views or intentions. He was a determined and dogmatic man. The risk of forced marriage remained and was probably now greater for the 17-year-old.

The continuation of the FMPOs was necessary to protect both children until they turned 21.

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Source:

Court continues forced marriage protection orders for teenagers
Sheffield City Council v M
Family Division District Registry (Sheffield)
7 June 2023
[2023] EWHC 1399 (Fam)
Poole J