An Italian woman has told of how she was declared mentally incompetent and had her baby taken from her while on a training course in Britain.
Known only as A, the woman became ill after not taking her medicines for bipolar disorder.
UK courts ruled that the woman should undergo a caesarean, after which Essex County Council assumed care of the baby.
The mother has told Italian newspapers that she did not consent to what happened.
Her lawyer has described her treatment as pure brutality.
“To snatch children from their own family has happened in history under other regimes under which there was no democracy…you can’t think of this happening in a Western European democracy.”
In August this year, the Italian courts ruled that the child should remain in England, and in October, UK courts ruled the child could be put up for adoption.
Essex County Council said it has behaved in the best interests of the child throughout.
