UPDATE: Kingston Magistrate transfers 'ISIS' teen case to St Mary
Published:Tuesday | April 21, 2015 | 12:00 AM
A Family Court Magistrate in Kingston who has been hearing the case of the teen suspected to have tried to join Islamic militants has transferred the matter to the Port Maria Resident Magistrate’s Court.
The magistrate was expected to rule today on whether the 16-year-old boy should remain in police custody having received a social enquiry report on the teen.
However, the magistrate has instead sent the matter to the Port Maria Resident Magistrate’s Court saying it is outside of her jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, the magistrate has ordered that the teen should not return to the Metcaffe Street detention facility, but instead to be taken to one of the children's homes operated by the Child Development Agency.
It is understood that the teen's lawyer Zara Lewis is to take the matter to the Supreme Court tomorrow to seek the release of of the boy.
The teen has been in custody since April 11 after being deported to Jamaica from Suriname.
The authorities there denied him entry into Suriname on the basis that he was heading to The Netherlands, then to Turkey to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The boy's family has denied the claims.
According to the boy’s granduncle, the teen was attempting to visit his mother in England who he has not seen in six years.
The man says since the teen did not have a visa to enter the United Kingdom, he planned to meet up with his mother and grandmother in the Netherlands before travelling to England.