A lesbian couple and their nine-year-old foster child have gone into hiding because of the row in Turkey about Muslim children being cared for by gay or Christian couples.

The couple have looked after Yunus since he was five months old but his mother has long campaigned for his return. Last week she made an emotional television appeal, leading to widespread debate in Turkey itself.

Next week, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit the Netherlands and some expect him to raise the fostering issue.

A Turkish parliamentary commission is currently researching the fostering of Muslim children by gay or Christian couples, which they say will lead to them becoming estranged from their cultural background.

School

Child social services in The Hague say they are extremely concerned about the ongoing debate. ‘The situation means Yunus cannot go to school,’ one official told Nos television.

No direct threats have been made but the family have now been moved to a different address, officials say.

The two mothers have done a fantastic job, one told the Volkskrant. ‘They have explored his ethnic background, visited Turkey and are learning Turkish. But this witch hunt means they are continually being questioned, at school, in the street, in the bakers,’ a spokeswoman said.

Family

The boy’s natural parents took their two other children to family in Turkey to avoid them being fostered by the same couple, the Volkskrant reported. This led to the parents spending a short time in prison for kidnapping, the paper said.

It is not clear from the media coverage why the children were taken into care.