Abducted to Pakistan – Parental Child Abduction

International Parental Child Abduction – We can help

Under Pakistani family law, which is based on Islamic law, the father controls virtually all aspects of his family”s life.

He decides where his wife and children will live, how the children are to be educated and whether or where they may travel.

Courts rarely, if ever, give custody of children to a woman who is not a Muslim, who will not raise the children as Muslims, does not plan to raise them in Pakistan, or has remarried. In all probability, even if the mother wins custody, the children would still need the father”s permission, to leave the country. Any matter of custody in Pakistan can only be resolved through the appropriate local judicial system.

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Parental Kidnapping – Russia protects criminal child abductors that are on the run from the law

October 23 , 2014

Source: riavrn.ru

Sveltana Anpilova’s ex-husband wrote letters to the ombudsman.

On Thursday, October 16, Children’s Rights Commissioner for the President of the Russian Federation Pavel Astakhov came to Voronezh with a working visit.

After visiting the boarding school for gifted children “Repnoye”, the ombudsman met 37 year old Voronezh native Svetlana Anpilova and her 10 year old daughter Angelina. They fled from Norway from their husband and father and have been living in Voronezh for a year by now.

Pavel Astakhov noted that the girl speaks Russian better now than when they first met. Angelina told that she likes it better in Russia than in Norway. Svetlana shared the recent news – her ex-husband has sued her and demands money. The woman does not intend to pay, she’s going to defend her rights in court.

Pavel Astakhov said that Svetlana’ ex-husband has been writing letters to him as well asking to give him back his daughter.

– But I answered that our first priority is to defend the interests of our citizens, – the commissioner stressed.

At the end of the meeting, the ombudsman gave Algelina a pink teddy-bear had a photo taken of him with the rescued girl as a memento.

Voronezh native Svetlana Anpilova and her daughter fled from Norway in August of 2013. Svetlana had lived together with her husband Frod Karlswig for 11 years, but in the last years of their marriage the married couple started having problems: according to the woman, her Norwegian husband started to drink, yell at his daughter and “maltreat her”, and soon he supposedly began to “beat the child”.

The mother and the daughter spent four days at the hotel of the Moscow airport “Sheremetyevo”: the child didn’t have an international passport to visit Russia – only a Norwegian birth certificate. Svetlana requested assistance from social activists; support was also provided by the members of children’s ombudsman Pavel Astakhov’s agency. On August 19 of 2013 Astakhov reported that

Angelina was admitted to Russian citizenship. The mother and her daughter moved to Svetlana’s parents to Voronezh.

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Parental Abduction – U.S. Woman Enters Plea in International Kidnap Case

September 30 , 2014

Source: abcnews

A woman accused of abducting her infant daughter from South Carolina 20 years ago pleaded not guilty Monday during her first court appearance after being extradited from Australia.

Dorothy Lee Barnett, 54, entered the plea before U.S. Magistrate Bristow Marchant. Her attorney requested that her bond hearing be delayed.

Barnett faces a count of parental kidnapping and two counts of falsifying U.S. passport applications. Authorities allege she did not have custody of her then 10-month-old daughter Savanna Catherine Todd when she took her from South Carolina back in 1994.

Barnett was found in Australia last year where she had been living under several aliases. She fought extradition but was finally returned to the United States last week.

Her attorney, Russell W. Mace III, told the judge he needs time to contact Barnett’s family and friends from out of state and out of the country to come vouch for his client. At a bond hearing a judge decides whether a defendant can be released after weighing whether he or she is a flight risk.

Mace told the judge his client had been back since Friday and he only met her for the first time Saturday.

He told reporters later that he has been in contact with Barnett by telephone since she was arrested and jailed in Australia last November. He would not comment further.

Barnett appeared before the judge in a gray-striped prison jumpsuit and there were shackles on her hands as she signed the court papers acknowledging her plea. She did not comment except to tell the judge she understood both the charges and that she would have to remain in jail at least until the bond hearing.

Conviction on the charges carries a maximum penalty of 30 years.

Authorities said that in 1994, Barnett left for a birthday party with her daughter and never returned. The previous year Barnett had filed for divorce from her husband, Benjamin Harris Todd III, a Bowling Green, Kentucky, native and former Charleston stockbroker.

The daughter has since been living a normal life in Australia, authorities said.

Prosecutors have not yet said just how Barnett was found in Australia after almost two decades.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Williams, who told the judge the government will oppose bond, would not comment following the hearing.

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Parental Kidnapping – Va. mother faces kidnapping charges

September 29 , 2014

Source: charlestondailymail 

A Virginia woman wanted by police after allegedly kidnapping her three children was arrested in Kanawha County.

State Police stopped Lisa Ann Cantrell, 50, of Pound, Va., late Saturday on the West Virginia Turnpike in Kanawha County. Cantrell was wanted for kidnapping her three children, a 17-year-old boy, and two girls, aged 12 and 9.

The Wise County (Va.) Sheriff’s Office issued information about a “possible parental child abduction” on their Facebook page over the weekend. The post identified Cantrell and displayed pictures of her and her three children. A description of her vehicle, a green Chevrolet Suburban with Virginia license plates, was also given in the post.

A State Police parkways dispatcher said the vehicle’s information was entered into the National Crime Information Center’s database. A license plate reader in a State Police cruiser picked up the SUV’s tags as it passed at about 10 p.m. Saturday on Interstate 77-64 and the trooper pulled the vehicle over, the dispatcher said.

Virginia deputies posted on Facebook Sunday that the three children were “safe” and that family members were en route to West Virginia to pick them up. Wise deputies were not available for comment Sunday.

Cantrell is being held without bond at South Central Regional Jail and is awaiting extradition to Virginia where she will face kidnapping charges.

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Parental Abduction – Changes to Travel Rules for Families Visiting South Africa

September 21 , 2014

Source: expatriatehealthcare.com

South Africa has long been a popular destination for Brits seeking winter sunshine. Each year over 300,000 of us fly out to the Cape in search of better weather, sandy beaches and breath-taking scenery. Unfortunately though, British expats and holiday makers visiting South Africa from October 1st onwards could be in for a nasty surprise.

In an attempt to tackle problems of child abduction and trafficking, new rules are to be introduced for minors entering the country. Anyone entering the country with children will be required to produce a full birth certificate for each child as evidence of legal parentage.

This is likely to put additional strain on governments around the world to issue – or reissue – birth certificates and thus enable travel. In the UK alone it can take several weeks to receive a birth certificate and this lead time is likely to worsen as demand rises later in the year.

For children who are accompanied by just one parent the rules will be even more draconian. The sole parent will not only require a birth certificate for each child under their supervision but also an affidavit. This must be signed by the other parent authorizing international travel and entry specifically into South Africa.

In cases where neither parent is present – such as school trips – further paperwork will be required. Once again, guardians will need to produce birth certificates and affidavits from the parents of all children. However in addition the guardian must present passports from both parents.

While the new rules have been put in place with the best of intentions by the South African government they are being called a “tourism, PR, economic and political disaster”. The additional paperwork required to visit South Africa in the future will not only frustrate potential visitors but also add to the costs of travel.

In addition the increased demand for such paperwork may cause delays and even holiday cancellations as most airlines are unlikely to allow travel to South Africa before production of the required documentation.

Families considering a future visit to South Africa are strongly encouraged to check the latest travel requirements with their airline in case of changes.

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Parental Child Abduction to Japan – ‘Racist’ cartoon issued by Japanese ministry angers rights activists

17 September , 2014

Source: scmp.com and CrnJapan.net 

Pamphlet issued by Tokyo to Japan’s embassies in response to Hague convention is criticised for depicting a foreign man beating his child.

Human rights activists in Japan have reacted angrily to a new pamphlet released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that they claim is racist and stereotypical for depicting white fathers beating their children.

The 11-page leaflet has been sent to Japanese embassies and consulates around the world in response to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction going into effect in Japan on April 1.

Tokyo dragged its feet on ratifying the treaty, which broadly stipulates that a child should be returned to his or her country of habitual residence when they have been taken out of that country by a parent but without the consent of the other parent.

But manga-style images of foreign fathers beating children and Japanese women portrayed as innocent victims have raised the hackles of campaigners, both those fighting discrimination against foreigners and non-Japanese who have been unable to see children who have been abducted by Japanese former spouses.

“It’s the same problem with any negotiations in which Japan looks like it has been beaten,” said Debito Arudou, a naturalised Japanese citizen who was born in the United States and has become a leading human rights activist.

“After being forced to give up a degree of power by signing the Hague treaty, they have to show that they have not lost face and they try to turn the narrative around,” he said. “It’s the same as in the debate over whaling.

“The Japanese always see themselves as the victims, and in this case, the narrative is that Japanese women are being abused and that the big, bad world is constantly trying to take advantage of them.”

Arudou is particularly incensed by the cover of the publication, which shows a blond-haired foreigner hitting a little girl, a foreign father taking a child from a sobbing Japanese mother and another Japanese female apparently ostracised by big-nosed foreign women.

“It is promoting the image that the outside world is against Japanese and the only place they will get a fair deal is in Japan,” said Arudou.

The rest of the pamphlet takes the form of a conversation between a cartoon character father and son, but with the storyline showing the difficulties of a Japanese woman living abroad with her half-Japanese son.

Arudou says the publication then “degenerates into the childish” with the appearance of an animated doll that is the father figure’s pride and joy, but also dispenses advice.

“As well as promoting all these stereotypes, why are they not talking about visitation issues for foreigners whose half-Japanese children have been abducted by their ex-wives?” asked Arudou.

Several foreigners who have been unable to see their children for years have already contacted Arudou to express their anger, with a number of US nationals saying they would pass the document onto lawmakers.

Arudou’s post on the issue on his website has also attracted attention, with commentators describing the pamphlet as “racist propaganda”.

“This is disgusting,” one commentator posted. “Pictures are powerful, more powerful than words. And the only time I’ve ever seen anything remotely like this is when I did a search for old anti-Japanese propaganda.

“Of course, that was disgusting too, but it was wartime!”

Another added, “What a pathetic advert for an ‘advanced’ country.

“As for the text – not wasting any more bandwidth on such utter racist, xenophobic, patronising, paranoid nonsense.”

Other links related to the case: http://www.mofa.go.jp/files/000034153.pdf and http://www.crnjapan.net/english-mofadoc.pdf

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Ireland – 2 children abducted by parents each week

September 13 , 2014

Source: Irishexaminer

At least two children a week were abducted by parents taking them in or out of Ireland last year.

Some 109 new abductions were logged with the Irish Central Authority for International Child Abduction during the year, involving 64 children taken out of Ireland and 45 brought here.

There were also 99 new applications involving access and other legal proceedings relating to children at the centre of transnational custody disputes, meaning the total number of new files received rose by 42%.

In addition, there were 138 cases on hand from previous years, meaning a total of 346 cases — the highest-ever handled by the Central Authority which is part of the Department of Justice.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said parental child abduction was a growing problem globally. “Ireland is no different and it is important that we are proactive in working with central authorities in other states in resolving complaints regarding international parental child abductions where they arise,” said Ms Fitzgerald.

As with previous years, a large proportion (49%) of the new applications related to children taken to or from Britain and the North; while 9% involved Germany; 7% Poland; 18% other European countries; and 16% the US.

The remaining 9% involved countries further afield, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Colombia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.

However, that may not reflect the full scale of child abduction as the Central Authority can only work to resolve cases involving countries that are signatories to the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction. Even where both parents are based in signatory countries, the large number of abduction cases carried over from previous years illustrates the difficulty in resolving them.

Ms Fitzgerald urged estranged parents not to let personal differences become transnational legal battles.

“I would encourage any family to try to resolve their differences before such situations arise and avail of the services available to mediate solutions in the best interest of the children and all those involved,” she said. “The Family Mediation Service is part of the Legal Aid Board and can help families reach agreement without having to resort to court.”

Of the 346 cases processed, 194 related to children taken out of Ireland and in 29 of those it was decided that the children should return to where they had been living.

In 14 of those cases, foreign courts ordered their return and in 15 cases, they were returned voluntarily or an alternative arrangement was agreed by the parents. A further 21 applications were withdrawn and 82 were awaiting resolution by the end of the year.

Of the 152 cases involving children abducted into this country, 74 were unresolved by the end of the year. In 23 cases, it was decided the children should return to where they were living and in 13 of those cases, the return was carried out by consent or voluntarily. A further 21 cases were withdrawn.

See www.legalaid.ie or call the Central Authority for Child Abduction on 01 4790200.

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Parental Abduction – Boy Abducted in Seattle May Pass by SD in Boat: FBI

September 13 , 2014

Source: NBC News

FBI officials are asking San Diegans to be on the lookout for a missing Seattle boy and his father who may pass by the area on their way to Mexico.

They believe Billy Ginger Hanson, 9, has been abducted by his biological father, Jeffrey Ford Hanson, 46, who may have taken to the high seas with the boy.

Law enforcement is concerned for the child’s safety because they say Hanson is extremely volatile.

Billy was supposed to return to his mother in Pennsylvania on Sept. 4, but he never boarded the flight.

The FBI believes Jeffrey and Billy Hanson may be aboard a white 1976 Cooper sailboat like the one pictured here. King County Sheriff’s Dept.

The FBI says Hanson, a known drug abuser, may be illegally taking his son to Mexico, the San Juan Islands or Tahiti in a 1976 Cooper sailboat with a 6-inchy red stripe along the side. The vessel named “Draco” has a Washington license plate of WN6783NZ.

In case they pass by the California coast, the agency has raised alarms here.

Billy is described as a Caucasian boy with brown hair and brown eyes, weighing 90 pounds and standing 4-feet tall.

Hanson is a Caucasian man with blonde hair and blue eyes. He stands 5-foot-5 and weighs 160 pounds. The FBI has issued a warrant for his arrest, accusing him of violating the international parental kidnapping statute.

If you know anything about the Hansons’ whereabouts, call the San Diego FBI office at 858-320-1800, the Seattle FBI office at 206-622-0460 or 911.

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Calgary mom alleges ex-husband abducted son, 7, to live in Lebanon

September 12 , 2014

Source: CalgaryHerald 

Layale Khalifeh and her seven-year-old son Jad have a bedtime routine when they’re apart: they look at the moon and imagine the other is doing the same.

It was a ritual they practised during regular phone calls last month while Jad was in Lebanon with Khalifeh’s ex-husband, Mohamad El-Husseini.

But at the end of August, the phone calls stopped — and El-Husseini hasn’t come back with their son.

Khalifeh now believes her ex-husband has abducted Jad, and has turned to authorities to compel his return.

Amid her frantic efforts to find her son, Khalifeh said she draws some solace in the belief that Jad is thinking of her when he peers up at the moon.

“I know wherever he is, he’s still doing that,” she said Thursday.

Parental abduction cases involving Lebanon can be notoriously difficult to resolve, but Khalifeh said she won’t rest until Jad is back in Calgary.

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes to bring my son back,” she said.

El-Husseini had taken Jad to Lebanon and returned him without incident since the couple’s separation in 2011 — but what Khalifeh has uncovered in the past 10 days has the look of alleged plan to permanently leave Canada with the boy.

Khalifeh, 33, agreed to let El-Husseini travel with Jad to Toronto, then Lebanon, at the end of July for what he said was a family wedding.

Khalifeh signed a legal consent letter, which specified El-Husseini and their son would return to Calgary on Sept. 1.

The first sign something was amiss was Aug. 26, when Khalifeh phoned El-Husseini to speak with Jad — something she did every few days — and the call cut out.

“Since then, I have continued to attempt to contact him, but have not been able to reach him or our son,” she stated in her affidavit, filed in Court of Queen’s Bench last week.

The allegations in Khalifeh’s affidavit haven’t been proven, but were enough to obtain a court order granting her sole custody of Jad and compelling his return to Canada.

Khalifeh stated in the affidavit she went to El-Husseini’s house on Sept. 1 and no one was there — what’s more, the house appeared vacant.

She also found out another property of El-Husseini’s in Calgary was sold in June.

When Khalifeh called British Airways to see if the airline had any information about her ex-husband and son’s travel plans, she learned El-Husseini cancelled their return tickets last month.

That’s when Khalifeh went to Calgary police.

At the same time, Khalifeh’s parents, who live in Lebanon, contacted El-Husseini’s family in that country and found more disturbing news: the relatives said he quit his job in Calgary.

“(El-Husseini’s aunt) further advised that he had planned to move back to Lebanon without my consent,” the affidavit said.

Calgary police have issued a Canada-wide warrant for El-Husseini, 34, on a charge of abducting a child in contravention of a custody order.

However, the family court order and the Canadian warrant don’t have any authority in Lebanon, which has never signed an international treaty governing parental abductions, known as The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Police and Khalifeh’s lawyer, Andy Hayher, acknowledge the case is challenging to pursue from Canada.

“It’s very difficult in Lebanon to convince a court that a father has abducted his own child,” said Hayer, who is working on the case with a lawyer in Lebanon.

Khalifeh and Hayher have also contacted Calgary MP Deepak Obhrai, who is Parliamentary Secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird.

Obhrai said consular officials in Lebanon will be pressing the case on Khalifeh’s behalf.

Local police, too, are working with counterparts across jurisdictions, such as the RCMP and INTERPOL. In the meantime, Khalifeh is trying to remain strong until she can see Jad, who was supposed to be starting Grade 2 at the Calgary French and International School.

“He’s my life. He’s my everything,” she said.

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There were 64 cases of children being abducted from Ireland last year

September 12 , 2014

Source: thejournal.ie

THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE dealt with 109 new cases of child abduction last year, 45 relating to children entering the country and 64 leaving.

The department acts as the Central Authority for International Child Abduction and its annual report says that, in total, they dealt with 208 new cases last year.

This total also includes cases of  care orders and access applications as well as international child placements.

Including ongoing cases, the authority dealt with a total of 346 cases in 2013.

The abductions related primarily to suspected parental child abductions according to Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald.

“Parental child abduction is a growing problem globally reflecting the greater mobility of people around the world and all the consequences of this,” she said today.

Ireland is no different and it is important that we are proactive in working with central authorities in other states in resolving complaints regarding international parental child abductions where they arise.

About half of the cases dealt with last year related to abductions to or from the United Kingdom.

Of the 138 ongoing cases of child abduction, 51 were incoming and 87 were outgoing.

Upon the publication of the report, Fitzgerald said that she hoped many cases could be resolved by families themselves but added that, in most cases, legal remedies are required.

“The resolution of issues around parental child abduction is usually by international law,” she said. “But I would encourage any family to try to resolve their differences before such situations arise and avail of the services available to mediate solutions in the best interest of the children and all those involved.”

Fitzgerald advised families that the Family Mediation Service in the Legal Aid Board can help families reach agreement without having to resort to court.

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