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Ashya King’s parents remanded in custody as judge considers extradition Ashya King’s parents remanded in custody as judge considers extradition
(about 7 hours later)
The parents of Ashya King, who are under arrest in Spain after removing the five-year-old from a Southampton hospital where he was being treated for an aggressive brain tumour, have refused to accept extradition back to the UK. The parents of Ashya King, who removed the five-year-old cancer patient from a Southampton hospital during treatment for a brain tumour, are being held in separate Spanish prisons after refusing to be extradited back to Britain.
Brett and Naghmeh King appeared at the national court in Madrid on Monday after a European arrest warrant was issued, and were remanded in police custody while the court decided whether to grant extradition. Brett King and his wife, Naghmeh, can be held for a maximum of 72 hours as a Madrid judge considers whether to grant an extradition request, while their seriously ill son is being cared for at a children’s hospital in Málaga, where his condition is said to be stable.
Judge Ismeal Moreno ordered that the couple be held in custody for up to 72 hours while he studied medical reports and documents from the couple’s defence lawyer. Juan Isidro Fernandez, a lawyer for the parents, said the couple, who took Ashya from Southampton General hospital, were “sad and desperate” as they sought new treatment for the child and had been “slandered and their reputation destroyed”.
If the court orders their extradition, the couple can appeal against the ruling, leading to the prospect of a lengthy legal battle. The couple were arrested on Saturday at a hotel in Vélez-Málaga after boarding a cross-channel ferry with Ashya and his six siblings, then driving to Spain.
After the hearing the couple’s lawyer, Juan Isidro Fernandez, said Ashya was in good health and that his parents travelled to Spain to sell a house they owned near Málaga to pay for treatment: “This couple love their children dearly and much what’s been said about them are manipulations and lies.” The family, from Southsea, Portsmouth, left Britain to seek proton beam therapy for the tumour, not available in the UK. The treatment is a form of radiotherapy used to treat some cancers which damages less healthy tissue compared with conventional x-ray treatments. It is available on the NHS in some cases, but patients have to be sent abroad.
He said that the parents wanted to chose another option of treatment for their son. “There’s that option in Prague in the Czech Republic, which is one of the places they wanted to travel with the money from the house sale, and also in Houston in the United States.” It also emerged that Ashya had been made a ward of court after Portsmouth city council obtained a temporary order on Friday at the request of the Southampton hospital that he be “presented for medical treatment”. That order is due to be reviewed on Wednesday. It means, in effect, that the local authority takes on parental responsibilities and any major decisions must be approved by the court.
Fernandez denied that Ashya’s life had been at risk, as his father knew how to control the feeding machine, and that he had been admitted to the hospital in Málaga “in a perfect state of health”. He said that Ashya’s brother, Daniel, 23, was with him in hospital. Aysha has been under police guard since Saturday, with his family prevented from visiting him. His oldest brother, Danny, 23, was hoping to be allowed to see him on Monday.
He added: “Our understanding is that when the hospital reports arrive, the parents will be released and will have complete freedom to take their son to another hospital, which is what they’re looking for, an alternative treatment. His parents, who are Jehovah’s Witnesses, were arrested on suspicion of neglect under a European arrest warrant and appeared before the private hearing at the audiencia nacional – Spain’s central criminal court – in Madrid on Monday morning .
“They’re not at all parents who have wanted to abandon their child or parents who acted in a certain way because of the fact they’re Jehovah’s Witnesses, which has also been commented on. They could now face a lengthy legal battle against extradition. Their lawyer said the two had hoped to sell an apartment they owned near Málaga to raise funds for the treatment they claim is being denied in the UK. If the Spanish court agrees to extradition, they can appeal, with subsquent hearings potentially dragging on for months.
“This is do with parents who love their child and for that reason have brought him to Spain.” Fernandez said outside court that the couple had been ordered to be held in preventive custody while the judge considered medical and other documents in the case. “Our understanding is that when the hospital reports arrive, the parents will be released and will have complete freedom to take their son to another hospital, which is what they are looking for, an alternative treatment.”
Ashya’s parents took him from Southampton General hospital on Thursday and travelled with him on a ferry to France along with his six siblings. They were arrested at a hotel in Vélez-Málaga on Saturday night on suspicion of neglect. He said Ashya was being treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy in the UK but his parents wanted the proton beam treatment, which was available in the Czech capital, Prague, and in Houston, Texas. “The parents love their children dearly and much of what’s been said about them is manipulations and lies,” Fernandez added.
A court source said: “The judge has decided they should be detained in prison for a maximum period of 72 hours. In the meantime he has asked for urgent medical reports from the hospital where the child is being looked after and a translation of documents which the defence lawyer has provided. On the basis of those reports and documents he will decide whether to approve the extradition or not. They did not need permission to remove Ashya from the hospital, the lawyer said, “because if you are a parent you have custody”. He added the couple were considering legal action for slander and false detention.
“The couple were asked if they wanted to be extradited and said they didn’t.” Hampshire police sought the arrest warrant claiming Ashya was in “grave danger” and the battery of his tube feeding unit was likely to run down on Friday.
Ashya is being treated at a children’s hospital in Málaga under police guard and is said to be in a stable condition. His oldest brother, Danny, 23, is expected to visit him later on Monday. The family have hit back in videos posted on YouTube. In one, Ashya’s father said they had no option but to remove him from Southampton, claiming the family feared he would be made the subject of an emergency protection order.
In a YouTube video Brett King, 51, said he and his wife, 45, had taken Ashya from the hospital in order to seek proton beam treatment, which is not available on the NHS. The family also feared doctors in the UK would seek an emergency protection order. In another, one of Ashya’s brothers, Naveed, 20, said they had plentiful supplies of the same food he was being tube-fed at Southampton, and that there was a power charger for the feeding unit.
Hampshire police launched an international search on Friday, and Ashya was made a temporary ward of court after proceedings in the UK that day. Danny King said the family only became aware of the international search when they arrived in Spain and went online. “We never thought this would be such a big deal. We just wanted to do what’s best for Ashya,” he told the BBC, adding that the whole family was devastated. He said his mother had spent a month and a half at Ashya’s hospital bedside, and being separated from him was extremely hard for everyone.
Danny King told the BBC that so far none of Ashya’s siblings had been allowed to visit him in his private room, which is under police guard. The family had found it incredibly difficult not being able to visit Ashya in hospital. “They did allow a voice recording that was set up to be played to Ashya ... I’m grateful that the doctors appreciate how important it is for Ashya just to hear the voice of one of his brothers,” Danny said.
“They did allow a voice recording that was set up to be played to Ashya … I’m grateful that the doctors appreciate how important it is for Ashya just to hear the voice of one of his brothers,” he said. “We’re not oblivious, his life will be shorter than most kids, but we want his quality of life to be the best. We’ve done so much research on all treatment that is available to Ashya – I know that side effects for the proton beam therapy are less and he would have more or less a normal life if he received that treatment. We know it’s not a miracle treatment.”
His brother Naveed, 20, told Channel 4 News: “My mum was by his [Ashya’s] side for the whole month that he was in hospital so for him to now suddenly not be with anyone of the family – and because he can’t really move much of his body we kept him entertained, we played games with him, we make sure that he was always happy … his health might actually deteriorate because he can’t be entertained and be happy. The Proton Therapy Centre in Prague confirmed it was able to treat Ashya immediately if he was eligible for proton therapy, with the cost of the treatment to be sorted out later. However, his doctors in Britain would have to agree to the treatment. Treatment of paediatric tumours at the centre costs £60,000-£65,000.
“We wanted the best for Ashya and for us to know that now they’ve taken him away from us and maybe given him treatment that may not be best for him, it’s quite heartbreaking. Southampton General hospital’s medical director, Dr Michael Marsh, said he regretted that its relationship with the Kings had broken down. It had discussed proton beam therapy with them, but added that sometimes there “isn’t the evidence that this is a beneficial treatment”.
“Especially now that my other brothers can’t see my parents, that’s heartbreaking for them.” Marsh said that there was real concern for Ashya’s welfare when he went missing and the hospital had no idea what his parents intentions were. He added: “The chances of surviving the condition Ashya has are about 70-80% after five years so we believe that he has a good chance of a successful outcome provided he gets access to the most appropriate treatment.”
Ashya’s paternal grandmother, Patricia King, said the way the family had been treated was an “absolute disgrace”. The Crown Prosecution Service said the case was under “immediate review” and a decision would be made on whether to prosecute. A spokesman said it had applied for the arrest warrant on Friday “at the request of Hampshire police for an offence of cruelty to a person under the age of 16 years”.
The couple had been taken away in handcuffs, accused of neglect and refused access to their son. The Brain Tumour Charity said on Monday that the isolation of Ashya from his parents was “fundamentally and morally unacceptable”.
“They [the authorities] are the ones who are cruel because they have taken poor little Ashya, who is dying of a brain tumour, and they won’t let the parents, my son and daughter-in-law, they won’t let them see him at all,” she told BBC Breakfast. “It’s terrible, it is so cruel it is unbelievable.” Sarah Lindsell, chief executive, said: “Whatever the facts of the situation facing Ashya King’s family, the Brain Tumour Charity knows, from its experience of working with families over many years, that separating a desperately ill child from their family has significant emotional and psychological consequences.
Naveed posted a video on YouTube on Sunday to disprove the claims that the youngster had been neglected. He showed special food and medical equipment bought for the drive to Spain, and said they also had a new £1,600 wheelchair for Ashya. He accused doctors in Southampton of not listening to his father, despite his hours of medical research on the internet.
According to reports, they travelled to Spain to sell a holiday home to obtain funds for the proton beam therapy.
In his video, Brett King said he had pleaded for proton beam therapy to be used to treat his son but had been told that it would be of no benefit for the medulloblastoma Ashya was suffering from.
He also claimed his son’s treatment in Southampton seemed like “trial and error” but was told that, if he questioned it, the hospital would seek an emergency protection order.
British police have travelled to Spain to question the couple and on Sunday defended their decision to request a European arrest warrant for them on suspicion of neglect.
Assistant chief constable Chris Shead, of Hampshire constabulary, said he was aware the police approach had created a significant amount of debate but he would rather be criticised for “being proactive” than “potentially having to explain why a child has lost his life”.