A Turkish newspaper is reporting that the Turkish government is to take the case of a nine-year-old Turkish-Dutch boy to the European Court of Human Rights in an effort to have him returned to his family.

The boy, known as Yunus, has been looked after by a lesbian couple since he was a baby after social workers said he was at risk with his biological mother.

Dutch media quote Turkish paper Sabah as saying that prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to take the case to the court.  The boy’s mother asked Erdogan to intervene. Her other two sons live with her, but the Dutch courts have ruled Yunus should stay in foster care.

Divisions

The issue caused a public division between Erdogan and Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte during a state visit last week.

ANP said Turkey asked for the issue to be discussed at ministerial level, but Rutte has turned down the request. ‘I did not agree this should be discussed by ministers,’ Rutte told reporters.

‘We consider the best possible care for the child to be paramount… and as long as there are not enough Islamic foster parents, we will do what is in the child’s best interests,’ the prime minister said.

The case has led to some disquiet in Turkey about the fostering of Turkish children by gay couples and Christians.