The father of two children currently in the process of adoption could face criminal charges for posting their identities on Facebook. The adoption row is a result of the father’s protests, claiming they are being forcefully adopted without consideration of the fact they are citizens of another country. The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has until recently, been on hunger strike in France.

The care proceedings were concluded some time ago and the children have already been placed with prospective adoptive parents however, court orders were sought as the family were posting information about the children online. However, the Barrister for Haringey Council, Sarah Nuttel, claims that the order has been repeatedly breached by the father. The Facebook posts included the names and pictures of the children as well as the names and addresses of the prospective adoptive parents.

The barrister for the father has stated that the posts were beyond the control of his client because ‘’people are outraged by what is going on’’, therefore; applied for the committal application to be adjourned. The judge agreed with this adjournment as he noted that the father had not had sufficient time to answer the allegations and ruled the case should come back to court later in June if no agreement could be reached by the parties.

The judge concluded that the ban on the children being identified on social media websites should be continued, saying it was “very undesirable” that they faced public identification “because the courts make a decision they say is in the best interests of the children”.

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