Distraught parents of 'kidnapped' cancer boy Ashya REFUSE to be extradited as his ENTIRE family is banned from seeing him in Spanish hospital
Brett and Naghmeh King, pictured, are accused of neglecting their
five-year-old son, inset, after they took him from his bed in
Southampton General Hospital and fled to Spain last week against medical
advice. The couple told a judge at a private Madrid hearing today they
'didn't want' want be sent back to the UK. Meanwhile Ashya's relatives
have blasted the 'cruel' decision to ban his whole family from his bed
side and believe 'it could kill him'. The five-year-old is critically
ill in a Malaga hospital under police guard.- I too know the agony of wanting ANYTHING to save your sick child
- Child cancer deaths are down by a fifth in the past decade thanks to better treatment
Agony for cancer boy Ashya's parents as they are ordered to be held by police for 72 more hours after refusing to be extradited to Britain... and family are banned from visiting 5-year-old in Spanish hospital
- Brett and Nagmeh King took Ashya from Southampton General Hospital
- They are now being held in Madrid for 72 hours after extradition hearing
- They were arrested in the city of Malaga on Saturday after a three-day hunt
- Ashya's grandmother says family has 'begged' to see him but was refused
- Family's lawyer says they are the victims and will sue the NHS and police
- PM has 'sympathy' for parents and says that Ashya's health comes first
- Naveed King posted a new video on YouTube defending his parents
- Said terminally ill Ashya was happy and comfortable while travelling to Spain
- Couple's six other children staying in nearby hostel with eldest son Danny
The parents of brain cancer sufferer Ashya King will be held in a Spanish cell for another 72 hours after they refused to be extradited back to Britain today.
Brett and
Naghmeh King took the
five-year-old from his bed in Southampton General Hospital last Thursday
and fled against medical advice because they wanted treatment not
available through the NHS.
Mr
King, 51, and Mrs King, 45, were arrested on Saturday night and since
then the entire family has been banned from seeing him in the Malaga
hospital where he is being kept under police guard.
His grandmother fears the isolation 'could kill him' and called the decision 'cruel' and a human rights breach.
Ashya's
parents were in front of a judge at a private Madrid hearing this
afternoon accused of child cruelty and told him they 'didn't want' want
be sent back to the UK.
Their
lawyer said outside the court said that the couple were victims of
false imprisonment by the police and planned to sue the NHS.
Scroll down for videos
Arrested: Brett and Naghmeh King (pictured being
pushed into a police car outside Velez Malaga police station) appeared
before a Madrid court today, accused of neglecting their dying
five-year-old son Ashya
On trial: A police van holding Brett and
Naghemeh King, sweeps into the National Court in Madrid, Spain this
morning ahead of their hearing - they were remanded in custody for a
further 72 hours
Cancer sufferer: Terminally ill boy, Ashya,
five, was found alive by police in Spain but is under police guard in
hospital and his family are banned from seeing him
The
King’s lawyer, Juan Isidro Fernandez Diaz, said: 'The boy is in
perfect health. My clients' intention was to bring their son to Spain to
sell a house they have near Malaga and seek better treatment for him.'This couple love their children dearly and much what's been said about them are manipulations and lies.
'We have shown the boy has been operated in England for a brain tumour and that he was being subjected to chemotherapy and radiotherapy and the parents didn't want that treatment, they wanted another option.
'The boy's life has never been at risk at any moment in time. His dad knew how to control the machine that feeds him perfectly.
'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.
'The parents are so sad, they are desperate. They have been slandered and their reputation has been destroyed.
'They will be taking legal action against the doctors who libelled him in the hospital and they will file a criminal complaint for false detention and libel.'
Counter-argument: Juan Isidro Fernandez Diaz,
laywer for British couple Brett and Naghemeh King speaks to the press
outside National Court in Madrid and said the couple were victims of
false detention and libel
Portsmouth
City Council revealed today that on Friday - 24 hours after he vanished - they made a High Court application for judges to be made temporary guardians
for Ashya because the boy was in 'serious danger'.
Southampton General Hospital had said the battery in Ashya’s tube feeding unit was due
to run down and his life was ‘in grave danger'.
The
court order meant that as soon as he was found he would have to be
taken to the nearest hospital and any decision to move him will have to
be agreed by the High Court in London first.
Upset: Ashya's grandmother Patricia King says that his rights have been forgotten by the 'cruel' authorities
Julian
Wooster, Portsmouth City Council's director for children's services
said: 'At the request of Southampton Hospital the council obtained a
temporary Wardship Order on Friday, only to direct that Ashya King be
presented for medical treatment.
'The order will be reviewed by the High Court on Wednesday.
'We understand this is an extremely difficult time for Ashya and his family.'
Meanwhile
Judge Ismael Moreno today remanded his parents in custody for a maximum
of 72 hours before making a final decision on Britain’s extradition
request.
He
said he wanted to study medical reports from the hospital where Ashya
is being held and translated documents from their defence lawyer before
taking the decision.
They are likely to be sent to Soto del Real jail on the outskirts of Madrid pending the judge’s decision.
If
he decides in favour of extradition a second appeal hearing would take
place weeks or months from now so the couple can argue against being
sent back to Britain.
If that happens it is unlikely the couple will continue to be held in custody after the 72-hour period is up.
Patrician King, who said police in Hampshire searched her home, said: '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.
'It’s terrible, it is so cruel it is unbelievable.
She
added: 'To try and make out that he has been neglected well. Why
haven’t we got any human rights? They keep on, the EU, about human
rights. Where are our human rights? We have got none.
'The whole thing is a huge injustice.
'They are still not allowed to see Ashya, which is shocking. It's the worst thing of all.
'If this carries on it could kill him.'
Defence: Naveed King said his parents ensured
his brother Ashya had exactly the same resources available to him at
hospital when they took him to Spain, including this chargeable
power-chord for his feeding line
Ashya's older brother Naveed King told Channel 4 News: 'We're not allowed to go and see Ashya at all.
'There
is police standing outside his hospital room. We are not allowed to go
and see him. We have tried to call the hospital but they are not
revealing any information at all to us.
'Including
taking care of all the kids, we're having to do the research ourselves
to find out information. We're not getting anyone knocking on our door
to tell us everything is OK. We've got lots of support from friends and
family out here.
'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
'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.
'Especially now that my other brothers can't see my parents, that's heartbreaking for them.'
David Cameron today appeared to suggest he could see both sides of the argument.The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: 'I think people up and down the country will understand and be moved by the grave illness which is Ashya is suffering and why first and foremost the priority must be that he receives the very best and most appropriate medical care for him.
'Of course, I'm sure every parent wants to do the best for their child. It's a very human - it's probably the most human of human instincts.
'In terms of the suffering of Ashya from this illness and the desire for everyone that first and foremost we should do everything we can for him - that's understandable.'
Alone: The King children leaving the Hostal
Esperanza in Benajarafe, southern Spain where they have been staying
while Ashya King is in a hospital. It appears none are able to see him
Ashya King's parents, Brett, 51, and
Naghmeh, 45, took him from Southampton General Hospital on Thursday
afternoon and travelled to the Costa del Sol in southern Spain
Brett
King and his wife Naghmeh were expected to appear in front of a judge
in the private Madrid hearing at 9.30am local time today.
Decision maker: Spanish judge Ismael Moreno
arrives to the National Courts to take statement to the parents of
five-year-old cancer sufferer Ashya King
But
the proceedings were put back to after midday local time at the
last-minute white they waited for a private defence lawyer they have
hired to reach the court.
Sources
at the Audencia Nacional - Spain’s Central Criminal Court - said the
lawyer was coming from Seville more than 300 miles away on an AVE
high-speed train.
He arrived at around 1.20pm local time and did not stop to speak to reporters.
Mr
Brett, 51, and his wife Naghmeh, 45, were being held in cells in the
court basement while they waited for the extradition proceedings to
start.
It was not clear if they were being kept in separate holding areas or in the same cell.
Spanish authorities have confirmed Britain is seeking their extradition on a charge of child cruelty.
The
judge they will appear before, Ismael Moreno, is an ex-police officer
better known in Spain for investigating alleged terrorists and drugs
traffickers,
Ashya's brother Naveed says his sibling was never in any danger and had not been neglected.
The
20-year-old posted a new YouTube video last night detailing the medical
equipment his family purchased to ensure terminally ill Ashya was
comfortable as they travelled to the city of Malaga, including
specialist feeding equipment and a top of the range wheelchair.
Jehovah’s
Witnesses Mr and Mrs Brett arrived at the court at 9.20am local time in
a police van tailed closely by a second police car.
They
are understood to have been driven in the van overnight from
Velez-Malaga five and a half hours away by road after a brief stop-off
at a court in the Costa del Sol town near Malaga.
In his
latest video, Naveed King said his parents ensured his brother Ashya had
exactly the same resources available to him at hospital when they took
him to Spain.
Holding
a package to the camera, Mr King said: 'Ashya was on this feeding line,
this is his food that he has every single day now since he’s been in
hospital. It’s the same food that was provided for him in the hospital -
we bought it online.'
'We
have a box load and we can easily buy more online and it was him to
have. We did not change his food in anyway - same food,' he added.
Anger: Ashya's parents have been in custody and were shown here in cuffs while their son is alone in hospital
He
added that his family had also spent £1,600 on a top-of-the-range
wheelchair, had an ample supply of the same syringes used to treat Ashya
while he had been in hospital, and were also in possession of a
chargeable power supply for his feeding line.
Mr
King also claimed that his parents' decision to remove Ashya from
hospital had been taken after many hours of research online.
'Whilst
Ashya was in hospital for the first week, my father travelled in the
morning - really early in the morning - came back late at night,
sometimes reaching past midnight,' he said.
'And
whilst he was home he did research upon hour - sometimes did not even
sleep. He did constant research to find information that could help
Ashya,' he added.
'[But the doctors] did
not want to hear anything about his research as they did not believe any of
this information that was being to him. [They said] the internet could not be
trusted, whilst the internet was giving him information that the doctors would
not give him,' Mr King went on to say.
Ashya has
undergone major surgery for an aggressive brain tumour and is kept alive
by a feeding tube. NHS cancer specialists told his family that the boy
cannot be saved and will die within four months.
But his
parents refused to accept this prognosis and took their son and their
six other children on a ferry to France on Thursday before driving to
Malaga.
Earlier last night Naveed King wrote on Facebook that the boy’s parents and six siblings were being kept away from him.
He said:
‘All we know for now is that they may want to send my parents back to
the UK for deeper questioning, they don’t allow anyone to see or visit
Ashya, not even family.’
In this video, which was posted on YouTube,
Brett King, the father of terminally-ill Ashya, explained why he had
gone on the run with his five-year-old son and his family
In the video, Mr King called for police to stop the 'ridiculous chase', saying his son was 'perfectly healthy'
Cancer sufferer: Terminally ill boy, Ashya,
five, was found alive by police in Spain but is under police guard in
hospital and his family are banned from seeing him
Irish
Independent feature writer Diarmaid MacDermott lived next door to the
Kings on the Costa del Sol and said it was 'inevitable' they would head
there when they fled the UK.
He
wrote today: 'The Kings quickly made their Jehovah's Witness beliefs
apparent by hanging placards with biblical quotations over their balcony
and placing similar boards on the windscreen of their people carrier.
'The
Kings made no attempt to integrate into the community. They were on
passing acquaintance terms with most of the residents, including myself,
and had no close friends at Casares del Mar.
'They
made their presence felt, however, by their noisy behaviour at the pool
and by the almost incessant noise from their apartment'.
In a
moving video made minutes before he was arrested, Mr King, 51, said they
had gone overseas to try to get specialist cancer treatment which he
said medics in the UK refused to sanction.
The proton
beam therapy, which costs £100,000 per patient, is not widely available
on the NHS but is commonly used throughout Europe.
The
couple’s eldest son Danny, 23, yesterday condemned the police’s decision
to pursue the family across Europe and described their behaviour as
‘heavy-handed’.
Speaking
to the Mail, he said: ‘It was incredible. I have never seen anything
like it. It was like we were worse than human traffickers.
‘We heard that the police were on the way and couldn’t believe we were being pursued.’
He added:
‘My parents still want to pay for treatment. I still hope that they can
so hopefully we can have little Ashya here with us a little bit longer.
We will find the money somehow. But when you are told your child has
only four months to live, what is money?
‘There are a lot of people who don’t like what we’ve done.
‘But
you’ve got to know what it is like to have a little brother in hospital
and the doctor saying to you he’s going to die in four months. We’re
just hoping for the best.’
Last night
Naveed posted a video of himself on the internet, saying the family had
travelled to Spain with all the necessary medical equipment for Ashya
and had even bought him a £1,600 wheelchair.
Referring
to concerns from the hospital that Ashya’s life was in danger after he
had been taken, Naveed said the family had bought food for his feeding
tube, which was the same as he was given in hospital.
Ashya King,
five, who was taken from Southampton
General Hospital without consent by his mother and father, has been found alive in Spain
Medical
experts had told police the battery in Ashya’s tube feeding unit was due
to run down and his life was ‘in grave danger’. But Naveed said they
had a power cord for his feeding system in the car.
Mr King, who runs a property company, said in his video that Ashya’s treatment seemed to be based on ‘trial and error’ and had left his son limp and unresponsive.
Mr King, who runs a property company, said in his video that Ashya’s treatment seemed to be based on ‘trial and error’ and had left his son limp and unresponsive.
He added:
‘[The doctor] said more or less if I questioned him in any way regarding
his treatment they’ll get an emergency protection order and take him
away from me.
‘So after
that, I realised I can’t speak to the oncologist at all because if I
actually ask anything or gave them any doubt I wasn’t in full accord
with them, they were just going to get a protection order.
‘Which meant in his deepest, darkest hour, I wouldn’t be there to look after him and neither would my wife.’
Proton
beam radiotherapy is currently only available to treat eye conditions on
the NHS in the UK but countries throughout Europe use it for a range
of cancers.
Mr and Mrs King checked into Hostel Esperanza, near Malaga, pictured above, with all their children before they were arrested
Spanish Police arrived at the coastal apartment block in Marbella
earlier today where Ashya King's family own a property
Patients can also access proton beam therapy abroad through NHS funding, where they must be assessed by a panel.
Roz Jones,
whose son Alex had surgery for brain cancer in 2008, said the family
had to raise £100,000 for proton beam therapy in Florida. She said they
hit a brick wall with the NHS and the hospital concerned which left them
with no choice but to make the financial sacrifice.
Mrs Jones
told Channel 4 News: ‘With the proton therapy I had been reading about,
[the hospital said], “No, that’s not tried and tested, they’re after
your money, you mustn’t take [your son] to the States.”
‘But we made the right decision because my little boy’s perfect – he’s got no side effects and he’s a lovely little boy.’
Asyha, who underwent an operation on a brain
tumour last month, in hospital with his mother Naghmeh in a photo posted
on Facebook by a relative
CCTV footage from the hospital shows Ashya King, who has a brain tumour, being taken by his father
Photos posted by relatives online show the
youngster in hospital after he underwent an emergency operation for a
brain tumour last month
Mr and
Mrs King, who are Jehovah’s Witnesses, were arrested on Saturday night
after a receptionist at the hotel they were staying in reported them to
the police. Medics then took Ashya to a children’s hospital where he
remains in a stable condition.
A hotel
waiter said: ‘The father insisted on carrying his child to the
ambulance. He was holding the sick child and begging to be allowed to go
to hospital with him. But the police said no. It was heartbreaking.’
Hampshire police said they would not apologise for the way they conducted their search for Ashya.
Assistant
Chief Constable Chris Shead said: ‘We had medical experts telling us
that Ashya was in grave danger. I make no apology for being as proactive
as possible in trying to find him. I’d much rather be standing here
facing criticism over being proactive than do nothing and explain why a
child has lost his life.’
Southampton
General Hospital disputed Mr King’s comments and said it did offer the
family access to a second opinion over their son’s treatment.
A
spokesman added: ‘We understand how distressing this situation is for
everyone involved, particularly Ashya’s family. We will continue to do
what we can to support them.’
Ukip's Janice Atkinson, South East MEP, called for the couple to be released immediately.
'I
am appalled that Ashya's parents have been arrested. This little boy
needs his mother at this time,' she said. 'He is five years old,
probably doesn't speak Spanish, and will be lying in a hospital bed in
distress.
'I
call on the Home Secretary to contact the Spanish authorities so that
Ashya's parents are released immediately. Then she should ask the
assistant chief constable of Hampshire, Chris Shead, why he "made no
apology for the police being proactive" to find Ashya.
'Then
I would ask her whether she now thinks that pernicious European arrest
warrant works in the hands of over-zealous policemen in the interests of
British citizens?'
Journey: The couple and their seven children boarded a ferry to Cherbourg, France, on Thursday, before travelling to Spain
Hampshire police and crime commissioner Simon Hayes defended the county's police force against accusations of heavy-handedness.
Mr
Hayes BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Ashya had 'rights to the
complex medical treatment that he needs and he also has the right to the
support of his parents' and he did not think it was 'good at all' that
the five-year-old was on his own in hospital. He said he hoped the boy
would be reunited quickly with his parents in the UK.
But
asked if police had been 'heavy-handed', Mr Hayes said: 'I think if
Hampshire Constabulary had ignored the professional medical advice and
opinion, then they would have been negligent in their responsibilities
to safeguard Ashya in this case and young children in general.
'I
think the reality is that Hampshire have no jurisdiction to operate
outside the UK, so once Ashya's parents had taken him across the
Channel, there was no option but to apply for a European arrest warrant
to secure the support of other national police forces.'
Ashya is comforted by his father, Brett. His
grandmother said the family kept a bedside vigil during his time in
hospital following the operation
'I JUST WANT POSITIVE RESULTS FOR MY SON': BRETT KING'S VIDEO
Mr King said: 'We were most disturbed today to find that his face is all over the internet and newspapers and we have been labelled as kidnappers putting his life at risk, neglect.'
Mr King said there had been 'a lot of talk' about the machine used to feed Ashya and whether they could make it work.
Police had warned that the family might not be able to work the machine and that it would run out of battery.
'As you can see there's nothing wrong with him, he is very happy actually since we took him out of hospital,' Mr King said.
'He has been smiling a lot more, he has very much been interacting with us. But I just wanted to say very quickly why we took him out of the hospital.
'The surgeon did a wonderful job on his head that took out the brain tumour, completely they reckon.
'But straight away afterwards he went into what's called posterior fossa syndrome, which means very limited moving or talking or doing anything.'
Mr King said he had spoken to specialists following Ashya's surgery and had requested proton beam treatment, which was not available on the NHS.
'Proton beam is so much better for children with brain cancer,' he said. 'It zones in on the area, whereby normal radiation passes right through his head and comes out the other side and destroys everything in his head.
'We pleaded with them for proton beam treatment. They looked at me straight in the face and said with his cancer - which is called medulloblastoma - it would have no benefit whatsoever.
'I went straight back to my room and looked it up and the American sites and French sites and Switzerland sites where they have proton beam said the opposite, it would be very beneficial for him.
'Then I spoke to them again, I wrote a letter which he never responded to, saying OK - I will sell my property in order to pay for the proton beam.'
Mr King said his son's treatment seemed like 'trial and error' and he was told if he questioned the treatment the hospital would seek an emergency protection order.
He said: 'After that I realised I can't speak to the oncologist at all, because if I actually ask anything or give any doubt I wasn't in full accord with them, they were going to get a protection order which meant in his deepest, darkest hour I wouldn't be there to look after him, and neither would my wife - they would prevent us from entering the ward.
'That's such a cruel system I decided I to start looking at the proton beam myself.'
He added: 'We decided to try and sort it out ourselves but now we're refugees almost.
'We can't do anything. The police are after us. The things we want to do to raise the money to pay for the proton beam, they've prevented it now.
'So my son is being treated and he's doing fine. We're very happy with his progress. We're not neglecting him. He has everything he had in hospital.'
Mr King said Ashya was 'responding so much better' than he did in hospital.
'We couldn't take it any more - not knowing and not being able to question anything in fear that they say, 'Sorry Mr and Mrs King, emergency protection order, you're no longer allowed in the ward'," he said.
'Under that stress, our son has grade four brain tumour, we couldn't discuss or question them at all in fear that our son would be in that ward all day long by himself without his parents being able to come in.
'We couldn't be under that system any more. I was going to get the money to pay for the proton beam therapy but they have prevented that now because the Spanish police are involved and I can't do want I wanted to do.'
Mr King urged police to call off 'this ridiculous chase'.
'We're not neglecting our son, he's in perfectly good health. My son is smiling, he's happy, we're doing things as a family. We just want to be left in peace. He's very sick. I just want to get on with his treatment. I'm not coming back to England if I cannot give him the treatment I want, which is proper treatment. I just want positive results for my son.'
BROTHERLY LOVE: THE TOUCHING VIDEO MESSAGE ASHYA'S OLDER BROTHER, NAVEED, MADE AFTER THE FIVE-YEAR-OLD'S OPERATION
In
a video posted on YouTube last month, Ashya's older brother Naveed King
told how his younger sibling had been diagnosed with a brain tumour and
was undergoing
surgery.
Speaking into the camera in a message directly to Ashya, Naveed said: 'I haven't slept. I've been awake all night worrying. We love you so much. We're all here for you.
'Everyone is praying for you. We just want to see your smile again.'
He added: 'No kid at the age of five deserves to have a brain tumour. Let's just hope the doctors know what they're doing and they know exactly where to operate and what to take out, and they take everything out and you can be better.
'And when we look back in 10 years' time when you're 15, we can actually see that things have changed for the better. Just because they're bad at one point doesn't mean they'll always be bad. I love you so much. I can't wait to see you.'
Speaking into the camera in a message directly to Ashya, Naveed said: 'I haven't slept. I've been awake all night worrying. We love you so much. We're all here for you.
'Everyone is praying for you. We just want to see your smile again.'
A picture of Ashya with older brother Naveed, who made a heart-rending video for him after the operation
He added: 'No kid at the age of five deserves to have a brain tumour. Let's just hope the doctors know what they're doing and they know exactly where to operate and what to take out, and they take everything out and you can be better.
'And when we look back in 10 years' time when you're 15, we can actually see that things have changed for the better. Just because they're bad at one point doesn't mean they'll always be bad. I love you so much. I can't wait to see you.'
The family boarded a cross-Channel ferry from
Portsmouth after Ashya went missing from Southampton General Hospital
and were believed to be travelling in a grey-coloured Hyundai I800 Style
CRDI (like that pictured, inset)
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