The status of the Jamaican teenager who was detained on suspicion that he was planning to join the terrorist group ISIS remains in limbo after the matter came up in the Family Court on Tuesday.
The Magistrate Paula Powell, ruled that she did not have the jurisdiction to deal with his case and transferred the matter to the St Mary Family Court. The decision was handed down after attorneys for the boy applied for his release.
The teenager is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, the Magistrate rejected a report from the Child Development Agency, which recommended that he be released into the custody of his father. The Family Court is to decide whether the boy is a Child in Need of Care and Protection.
He was taken into custody on April 12 after being denied entry to Suriname.
The teenager’s attorney, Zara Lewis, told RJR News he is now in the custody of the CDA.
“Which means that my application is no longer before the court, I am not sure though on what basis the child is being transfered to St. Mary. He is still in the custody of the state but in the welfare arm, not in the security arm,” she said.
