Heartbreak as tug-of-love boy Guillaume Ritchie returns to French mother

CONCERNS are mounting for the welfare of a ten-year-old boy at the centre of an international tug-of-love after his Scottish father handed him over to his French mother amid scenes of extreme distress.

Guillaume Ritchie, pictured, yesterday became so upset during the pre-arranged meeting at a Fort William hotel that police had to be called to calm down both sides of his divided family.

The P6 pupil, clearly deeply troubled, ran away from his mother, Marylyn Muzika, as his father obeyed a court order to return him to his former wife and his home in France.

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In scenes that were filmed by the Ritchie family, Guillaume screamed to his father: "No, Papa, please don't make me go."

The boy was eventually formally put in to his mother's custody after the two sides were brought together, along with sheriff officers, in Fort William police station.

Child mental health experts yesterday warned that the trauma of a parental split and a bitter custody battle could do harm to a young child.

Parenting writer Frank Furedi last night said adults too often fight their marital feuds through children, adding: "Whichever parent wins the battle for custody, the child is most likely to come out as the loser."

Another specialist familiar with the case added: "This is not a happy situation."

Guillaume's aunt, Kriss Suzanne Ritchie, said: "This is going to do so much damage to him; he needs a normal life to get over this and that is not going to happen in France."

• Frank Furedi: There's always a loser in a custody battle – it's the child

The Ritchie case has shocked family law experts across Scotland. It highlights the emotional toll of divorces on the nation's children, some 50,000 of whom are affected by family break-up or separation every year.

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Legally, the Ritchie dispute is straightforward. Mr Ritchie, a 47-year-old college worker, failed to return his son to France after a routine holiday break. Guillaume, Mr Ritchie said, had refused to board a plane, claiming that he was being physically abused by a French relative.

The Court of Session ruled that Mr Ritchie had breached international treaties on child abduction.

The family responded highly unusually, mounting a major media campaign on Facebook and YouTube that also saw Guillaume himself march through the streets of Fort William with a home-made banner declaring, in a childish hand, that he was a "warrior" and that his "nightmares were becoming true".

• Catherine Karlin: Convention must be followed in reaching decision

Some experts have cautioned that the Ritchies were only making things worse by thrusting the boy in to the media limelight. But the family's more than 1,000 supporters on the internet were horrified that Guillaume should be handed over, especially after the Ritchies, in another highly unusual move, published Guillaume's psychiatric report online, showing that a respected psychologist regarded his abuse allegations as credible.

The family yesterday turned up for the handover armed with a camcorder. Ms Ritchie, an Inverness film-maker, shot what happened. Her pictures show Guillaume reluctant to go near his mother, whom he had not seen for four months. Then, screaming, he ran to a car, shouting: "Open the door."

Mr Ritchie split with Ms Muzika, an English teacher, six years ago. The couple had lived in France. Their divorce was bitter with Ms Muzika accusing Mr Ritchie of domestic violence and disappearing with the children, according to an affidavit lodged at the Court of Session.

Ms Muzika was later given custody of the their two sons at her home in a village near the Belgian border. Guillaume and his younger brother spent their holidays with their father in Corpach, Lochaber.

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The Court of Session has effectively ruled that, under the Hague Convention on child abduction, jurisdiction over the case belongs in France, not Scotland. Legal experts said the court would only have refused to return the child to France under extreme circumstances.

Ms Muzika, who has declined to speak to the press, yesterday took Guillaume to Edinburgh. She is expected, aviation conditions permitting, to fly home with her son today.

The Ritchies – although they have "maxed out" their extended family finances in their Scottish legal battle – hope to fight for custody in a French court.

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