Video: Lecturer vows to battle on over estranged Brazilian daughter
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Watch Martin Boyle
talking about his experience.
Exclusive by Adam Williams
A Kent University lecturer is continuing to fight for access to
his estranged Brazilian daughter, even after spending 15 days
inside a Sao Paulo prison.
Police detained Martin Boyle at the city's airport, before
locking him up in a 3m by 4m cell with up to 20 other inmates.
The crime was alleged unpaid child maintenance for his
17-year-old daughter, Rebeca, who the 42-year-old has not seen
since her third birthday.
Mr Boyle, of Tower Parade, Whitstable was eventually released
after his father and lawyer arranged for the outstanding payments
to be sent to the British Consulate.
The English Language tutor has been told in no uncertain terms
not to return to Brazil to trace Rebeca.
Mr Boyle said: "Finding my daughter occupies my whole
life. I wake up thinking about it and when I go to sleep,
it's the last thing on my mind."
To raise awareness of the situation, he has now launched
an online
petition calling on the UK Government to put pressure on
Brazil, which he claims is failing to adhere to a convention on
basic human rights.
He claims his daughter has been fraudulently adopted and had her
name changed by the family of his former partner, who he met in
1987 while she was studying in London.
He has pursued the case through numerous channels, including
Kent Police, Missing Persons, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office
and even Interpol. However, his strongest argument to gain access
vanished after his trip to Brazil last year.
Under the Hague Convention, both Britain and Brazil are
signatories to acting on cases of international child abduction. In
cases like Martin's, both countries have a duty to ensure the safe
return of missing children.
But now Rebeca has turned 17, she is no longer classed as a
child and Martin's case to gain access under the Hague Convention
has fallen through.
Monday, August 17 2009
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