Mum fears for Belfast toddler who won’t be leaving Lebanon
Catherine Flanagan wants her son David to be returned to Northern Ireland
- Published
A mother has said that the Foreign Office is failing her son, who is being kept in Lebanon in defiance of a UK court order.
David Nahle was taken by his father during a trip to Beirut in 2022 when he was 10 months old.
Dr Mustapha Ali Nahle has refused to abide by a High Court ruling for his son to be returned to Northern Ireland, saying he has been granted custody in Lebanon.
BBC Spotlight travelled to Lebanon to interview Dr Nahle, who said he would not be returning David to his mother, adding that he believes his son is safe.
The Foreign Office said it had “provided consular assistance to a British woman who was in Lebanon and been in contact with local authorities.”.
On Monday night Israeli troops invaded southern Lebanon.
David’s mother, Catherine Flanagan from Belfast, said she was increasingly worried about her son, who is now almost three.
“Every time I see that there’s been an airstrike, I’m checking where exactly that is in relation to different places where I know they might have David.
“It’s widespread violence, widespread bombings,” she said.
David’s mother says she is increasingly worried about her son
Ms Flanagan told the BBC in early September that she had not seen or spoken to her son in more than a year.
There has been fighting between Israel and Hezbollah across the Lebanese border since the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas.
The Iran-backed militia, which is based in Lebanon, said it would continue until there was a ceasefire in Gaza.
In recent weeks, Israel has carried out airstrikes across Lebanon, including in the capital Beirut.
'Not a second that I'm not thinking about him'
Catherine Flanagan is appealing to the UK and Irish governments to help get David back to Belfast
The Foreign Office has told all British citizens to leave the country.
David, who travelled to Lebanon on a British passport, is being kept in Beirut by his father.
Dr Nahle is now considered a fugitive from UK authorities.
Ms Flanagan claims her questions to the Foreign Office about David’s case have gone unanswered.
“Nobody has gotten back to me or told me what they are doing, that is not acceptable.
“David’s rights as a British citizen, as my son, are being trampled all over. I find it extremely, extremely negligent,” she said.
Birthday in a warzone
She fears for David who will celebrate his third birthday next week in a warzone.
“There's not a second of the day that I'm not thinking about David. When I sleep, I'm dreaming about him.
BBC Spotlight travelled to Beirut to track down David’s father, who is a consultant anaesthetist in Lebanon’s largest hospital.
Speaking days before the most recent escalation in attacks, he told the BBC he had been granted custody by a Lebanese court, and would not be returning David to his mother.
"I am Lebanese, I live in Lebanon, I obey for Lebanese laws, that’s it".
Dr Nahle added: "I feel David is safe and I have some safety measures.
"The world, in our lives, we don’t have the hundred percent safety, in UK they don’t have it, in Belfast they have riots, they have racial riots too."
David’s parents married in 2021 but the home office rejected Dr Nahle's application for a visitor visa to the UK.
After their marriage broke down, Dr Nahle took David from Ms Flanagan, citing concerns for his son’s safety.
In 2023, the High Court in Belfast awarded Catherine custody and ordered Dr Nahle to return David to live in Northern Ireland.
That did not happen.
'He loves his son'
Dr Nahle is a consultant anaesthetist in Lebanon’s largest hospital
Ms Flanagan told the BBC she fears her son is at risk in the country.
“I can't believe that his father, who does love him, would do such a thing to me, would do such a thing to David.”
Miceál O‘Hurley is an independent mediator between David’s parents, and thinks the escalation in violence may change Dr Nahle's thinking.
“I accept that Mustapha and his family love this child. If you've seen a video of him, he's happy, bouncy, chubby-cheeked.
“He loves his son. But now it's about putting his needs first,” he said.
'Little in the way of progress'
Mr O’Hurley also believes the government should be doing more to ensure David is evacuated from the country.
“The government is so concerned we have now a level four evacuation for all British citizens.
“It ought not to take a ground war, or missiles falling on your head, or dying because a pager explodes in the property next door to get us to marshal our attention to save a child.”
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson said he'd "like to see our government doing more for David".
"All [Catherine's] asking for is the Foreign Office stand over and support her desire to be reunited with her son... that shouldn’t be a big ask, but seemingly the Foreign Office is not engaged in much behind the scenes," Robinson told BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.
Mr Robinson described it as "an appalling state of affairs" and said there has been "successive foreign secretaries and successive governments" in place, but "little in the way of progress".
Additional reporting from David Hunter.
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