Newsroom
Police are looking for a European woman who allegedly abducted her two children three weeks ago and left the country.
According to local media, a foreign woman in Nicosia took her two biological children from the capital and flew to another country without the consent of the biological father, who filed a complaint with police in late July.
Sources told Knews that the father, described as a Greek Cypriot male, filed a complaint against the mother, who is said to be his ex-wife from an Eastern European country. The mother is accused of kidnapping the former couple’s two children, aged 13 and 7, and flying them across international borders to her native land.
Unconfirmed reports said there were possible allegations of abuse in the case described as a child custody battle, but specific details were not made available
Unconfirmed reports said there were possible allegations of abuse in the case described as a child custody battle, but specific details were not made available.
Cypriot police said they contacted foreign officials in a third country where the woman's whereabouts remained unknown. Knews has learned that both Cyprus and the country in question are both signatories to the International Child Abduction treaty. Greek Cypriot media said a police warrant had been issued for the woman's arrest.
The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is a treaty that went into effect in 1983, with nearly 100 countries taking part including Cyprus. It is meant to ensure that children up to age 16 who are abducted across international borders without the consent of a legal guardian can be returned home as quickly as possible.
A number of child abduction cases have been highlighted in the media recently, while no official figures have been made available as to the extent of the problem on the island.
